Lords of Shadow: Sunnydale
by Twilight Warrior 627
Summary: Two similar worlds have been hidden from each other until one night, they collide. A migrator from the past takes residence on the Mouth of Hell, introducing powers the likes of which haven't been seen for almost a thousand years. His path brings him to the One that Sees.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't either series. They are owned by Joss Whedon and Konami.

Author's note: I thought I'd take a crack at a crossover that I doubt anyone would've tried. It's the Buffy/Angel series and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. In truth, I love the mythology of Lords of Shadow because it actually uses the mythology of the different cultures and made them believable. So I thought I'd mix the two with the Buffyverse mythology having more of the CV: LOS feel. Also, I want readers to know, that some mythology from either series I am likely to change so as to make it more realistic. Now, for the story.

Harris Residence

Sunnydale

California

_There is a legend of a warrior who existed about a millennia ago. He was raised a member of a brotherhood and loved someone dearly, was devoted to serving the Almighty God, and fought against evil. He was the subject of a prophecy that foretold of a pure-hearted warrior who would fight against three powerful forces of darkness, known as the Lords of Shadow. With their defeat, he would unite a power , known as the God mask, which would allow the wearer to become God's vassal on Earth. However, the prophecy was just a means of controlling him, used by one of the Lords of Shadow, so that he may use the mask for his own purpose. It turns out, the three Lords of Shadow were created as a result of a spell done by the brotherhood founders, whose spirits left their bodies, while their bodies rose as dark entities. The warrior fought two of the Lords and emerged victorious. As for the third, he defeated the warrior and claimed the mask but was overtaken by the ruler of the underworld. The king of Hell took the mask and was challenged by the warrior, only to be defeated and sent back to his imprisonment._

_The warrior had faded into obscurity until over twenty years later, unconfirmed reports that a vampire bearing his likeness had arisen. An army was sent to destroy, but was decimated within minutes. Three warriors have stood against him: his own sons, one a human that he never knew would be born during his travels. The other he sired with a another human woman. His human son had fallen to him, while has half-breed spawn was also defeated. His grandson also rose to challenge him but was later defeated. No one knew of his fate afterwards. The reports following his victory over the King of Hell were never confirmed but it is known that some entity of great darkness was responsible for the army's demise. Whoever reads this, pray that you do not come across this entity, or you fall into a great darkness._

_Rinaldo Gandolfi_

'Man who comes up with this stuff?' a young man asked as he finished reading the old book that was on his desk.

"Hey Xander! You finish that book yet?" asked another young man who was in the same room reading a comic book.

"Yeah Jesse. I gotta say, these old myths sure get long-winded. I've heard gossip stories that were shorter than this. And most of those are about Harmony and much more detailed," Xander replied smiling goofily, while Jesse laughed.

The two young men had been best friends their entire lives. They were practically brothers to each other. There was nothing that could tear them apart. The two always enjoyed each other's company and even debated about the comics they enjoyed reading. They were even there for each other when they needed it, especially Jesse. He had known for some time that Xander's parents weren't exactly the best to be around. He sometimes noticed that his friend would walk with a bit of a limp. He had confronted Xander one day about it and his friend had confessed what his dad does to him on a regular basis. Living with a drunk abusive parent was horrible.

This made their friendship stronger than ever. As Jesse was leaving Xander's house, two figures stood outside, both on opposite ends of the street looking at the two young men. Both had plans for them that would change everything that everyone who would become involved ever knew.

The next day...

Sunnydale High School

Xander skated his way to school, barely avoiding the students walking towards the entrance. As he came towards the steps, he spotted a beautiful blonde girl going up the steps and he couldn't take his eyes off her. Unfortunately, he rammed into the stair rail. As he tried re-situate himself, a cute redheaded girl came up smiling at one of his antics. He smiled back as his other best friend, Willow Rosenburg looked on.

"Willow! You're so much the person I wanted to see," Xander said to her.

"Really?" the girl replied.

"Yeah. I need help with the math," Xander replied as they entered the building. As the two friends walked in, they were joined by Jesse a moment later.

"Hey Jesse! What's the what?" Xander asked.

"New girl," Jesse replied.

"Oh right! I saw her. She's a hotty," Xander said, missing the slight look of jealousy on Willow's face. She chose to keep quiet at the moment.

"So. Tell. What's the sitch?," Xander asked.

"Dude, new girl," Jesse replied giving Xander a pointed look.

"Well, you're a fountain of info," Xander replied.

The three friends continued walking on to their classes and even going through the day as if everything was alright. Xander had a slight run in with Buffy, and realized she dropped a stake but didn't think too much of it. When the three met up with Buffy at the courtyard, Xander returned her stake. As the three talked, Cordelia, Jesse's crush, came to them telling Buffy about the body of some random young man in the girl's locker room. When Buffy left, the rest were standing there wondering about what was next.

"Well, it's safe to say this day just went right to hell, didn't it?" Xander asked, sarcastically.

"When isn't every day in this place like hell? Something's always happening and no one ever knows why," Jesse responded.

"If you losers are done, I've got to be somewhere that isn't near you people," Cordelia said as she was leaving.

"Okay. Well, I'll be around...if you need me...or not," Jesse said with his voice dropping to a barely audible whisper.

"Maybe you should let it go Jesse," Willow said putting her right arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Yeah. You don't need her. You really want a girl to treat you the way she does all of us?" Xander asked trying to make his friend feel better.

"You're right. Thanks guys. So whose up for the Bronze tonight, huh? Anyone?" Jesse asked feeling slightly better.

"Of course," Xander said as the three got up to continue the rest of their day.

Xander decided to make a stop by the school library to return the old book that he read with that strange passage on the last page. As he was ready to see about any other books he was interested in, the librarian came up to him.

"Excuse me," a cultured English voice said behind him. Xander turned around to find an older man with glasses, wearing a tweed jacket looking at him.

"How may help you Mr. Harris?" the librarian asked.

"Oh, I was just returning this Mr., uh...?" Xander trailed off.

"Giles. Rupert Giles," the librarian introduced himself.

"Well, Mr. Giles, I was just returning this old book here. It wasn't bad but it wasn't exactly on my top ten list," Xander joked with the older gentleman.

"Well Mr. Harris, a book like this is not meant solely for entertainment. It is one of many records that help teach us about the past and the deeds that were done to ensure a brighter future," Giles replied to Xander.

"Well I-" Xander was cut off as a feminine voice with a slight attitude broke in.

"Alright! What's the sitch?" came Buffy's voice from the desk. Giles turned aorund and immediately went to her. Xander stopped in his tracks as they began to talk and he heard mention of the guy found in the girl's locker room. He immediately thought it weird that a girl like Buffy wouldn't care about a person's death until he heard an interesting piece of the conversation. Buffy began shooting off about vampires and how they are created when Giles cut in.

"You have no idea what's going on, do you? Do you think it's coincidence, your coming here? That boy was just he beginning," he said.

"Why can't you leave me alone?" Buffy huffed turning hoping to be able to leave.

"Because you are the slayer. Into every generation a slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with-" he was cut off as Buffy finished for him.

"The strength and skill to hunt the vampires. Stop the spread of evil, blah blah. I know," Buffy said.

"If you've accepted your calling why are you-" he stopped as Buffy cut in again.

"Because I've been there before and look where it got me! I lost all of my friends. I was kicked out for having to fight some big bad vampire. And I was sent to a psycho ward. And I'm moving on," Buffy finished.

"What do you know about this town?" Giles asked.

"Aside from being two hours away from a Neiman Marcus?" Buffy tried to joke.

"This place has a history of odd occurrences. It is possible it is the center of some mystical convergence that causes things to gravitate towards it," Giles began.

"Like vampires?" Buffy asked.

"For a start. There's also werewolves, zombies, incubi, succubi. Everything you ever feared dwelt beneath your bed and were told could never be real exists as much as you and I do," Giles said looking at her sternly.

"And what do you expect me to do without me causing trouble?" Buffy retorted.

"You fight. That is your destiny," Giles answered. Buffy only turned around and stormed out. As Xander came from his hiding place, he could only look at the spot where the other two were, wondering what the hell he just heard.

He left the library not bothering to pick up another book and continued thinking about the conversation Giles had with Buffy. He understood that the town had a lot of strange things happen that no one could really explain or never bothered too. But for someone to say that vampires and other monsters existed seemed ludicrous. As the school day was coming to an end, Xander told Willow and Jesse he would meet them at the Bronze later.

Four hours later

Harris Residence

Xander got ready to meet his friends at the Bronze for another night of fun. He was already running late as it was and he hated keeping his friends waiting for him. However, his thoughts were interrupted as he looked in his mirror at a man in a blazer, wearing slacks and a button down shirt, along with a fedora looking around his room.

"Who the hell are you?! I'm calling the police!" Xander shouted reaching for his phone only to be blocked by the man who had inhuman speed.

"Trust me. The cops won't be taking calls at this hour. Especially with all the monsters running around," Whistler said in a slightly playful tone.

"Who are you?" Xander asked hoping he wouldn't die.

"The name is Whistler. I'm here to give you a gift," Whistler said as he approached Xander with superhuman speed. He laid his right hand on Xander's chest and it crackled with blue energy from the spot the man's hand laid on. When he removed his hand, Xander knelt down and looked up to find the intruder gone.

'_What the hell?!'_


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Already said it.

Author's note: So I've already gotten followers to this story when I've barely even gotten to the true meat and grit of this story. I guess some of you are eager to know what's going to happen. I hope I don't disappoint you. As I said last chapter, much of the mythology of both series will be largely intact, but for the Buffyverse, some of the mythology will lean a little bit towards Lords of Shadow, so as to actually draw off of where the myths actually came from. And in all honesty, in regards to Buffyverse mythology, you're bound to run out of ideas for demons before you start imitating the mythology and calling it your original idea. Anyway, on with the story.

En route to the Bronze

Sunnydale

Jesse walked along the darkened streets of Sunnydale towards the only club that people could enjoy. He had always thought Sunnydale a very strange place to be in as he grew older. It wasn't so much the fact that the town was boring as watching paint dry. Really, it was usually the fact that he had heard the rumors about the death-rate of the town and it had disturbed him greatly. He remembered that from time to time, some students would be new to the school, and then suddenly leave not long after a particular incident. He could chock this up to an extreme paranoia but he always knew for sure that there was something about this town that he couldn't put his finger on. As he came to an alleyway near the Bronze, he stopped in his tracks, cold. He wasn't quite sure why, but he knew that something wasn't sitting well with him. As he turned around to see behind him, he saw a lone figure wearing a hood, standing and looking directly at him.

"Hey man. I don't want any trouble! If you're looking for cash, I don't have any," Jesse lied hoping this stranger would leave him be.

"I'm not seeking any currency or anything of monetary value. I have been looking for you, Jesse McNally," the stranger replied in a deep, Romanian male accent. Jesse stood stock still as he began to think that this stranger has been stalking him.

"Hey, if you're a pants-dropper, I don't get down that way!" Jesse shouted hoping someone heard him.

"Heh heh. You're as funny as your friend Alexander. Don't worry. I'm not here to do any harm to you, or him for that matter. I wanted to give you something. No doubt your friend has already received his gift from the other," the man said.

"What? What are you talking about?!" Jesse asked confused, despite himself.

"It's funny. Whenever I think about humanity, I think about the choices that everyone is capable of making. I remember when I made the greatest choice that made me what I am today. And now I'm here to make sure that you don't fall to a worse fate and carve a path to a better one. Things are going to fall apart for this place. And you will be needed," the stranger explained.

"You're still not making any sense dude," Jesse replied.

The stranger approached him as if without care, because he was on a mission and it had to be done. As he came to stand three feet in front of Jesse, he removed his hood. The stranger had paled skin which was fairly smooth. He had long hair dark-brown hair that reached to his shoulders. He also sported a goatee which connected with his mustache. As Jesse got a good look at the rest of him, he noticed that the man seemed to be wearing what appeared to be armor that covered most of his body except for his head. On the stranger's chest appeared to be a skull with a sharp-pointed chin. There were gauntlets that reached just below the stranger's wrists which revealed his hands, which had fingerless gloves. The armor itself was covered in what appeared to be a red cloak. What caught Jesse's interest about this man's appearance were the numerous items adorning him, such as the daggers, and orbs that seem to be filled with water. Even stranger was that this guy carried what looked like a sword on his left hip, and then there were his eyes. His eyes seemed to glow with an unholy shade of red, which was terrifying Jesse.

"Who the hell are you?!" Jesse asked as he began to back away.

"My name...is Gabriel," the stranger said looking deadly serious at the young man.

"As in the Angel? Oh man...I can't believe...I mean my folks always said that-" Jesse was cut off as Gabriel raised a hand to tell him to stop.

"No. Believe me. I'm NO Angel. But as I said, I'm not here to hurt you, so you can stop babbling the way your redheaded friend does," Gabriel replied.

"Alright, so what did you want to give me?" Jesse asked, even knowing that this was likely a bad idea.

"The first is something you would not believe was possible. So hold still," Gabriel said coming closer to Jesse.

"Wait, wha-AAAAAGH!" Jesse screamed as Gabriel placed a hand on the young man's chest, where sparks of red energy were emanating from. When the sensation subsided, Jesse was panting heavily.

"Whoa! What a rush! I feel stronger and...different. What was that?!" Jesse asked with excitement.

"You'll know in time. Until then, keep your wits about you. Oh, and watch out for the blonde in the schoolgirl uniform. You'll know what I mean when you see her," Gabriel said as he turned and began walking away. Jesse stood up and turned to continue heading towards the Bronze. When he turned about around to address the older man, Jesse found that he was gone. He never even heard the man's footsteps. _'This town just gets weirder'_ he thought to himself.

He finally arrived at the Bronze and noticed that it was a bit more packed than usual. He paid the cover charge and walked in and heard the alternative rock music filling the building. As he looked at the stage, he saw the band Sprung Monkey, a personal favorite of his, performing and the crowd was loving every minute of it. He spotted Willow by herself at their usual table. He always thought that Willow was cute and adorable and would've made a move on her. But he could see that she was madly head over hills for Xander. He decided to let things go their course for the time being.

"Hey Jesse," she said flashing that brilliant smile of hers. Whenever he saw it, Jesse's heart would melt just a little because it was a genuine smile. He could see subtle hints of affection towards those she cared about, particularly towards Xander. And whenever he thought of the two, his heart died a little. Still he kept strong.

"Hey Wills. How's my favorite girl tonight?" he asked humoring her.

"Well, the band is always cool. And as usual, no guys trying to get an all-access pass to Willow's World," she replied, a little melancholically.

"Hey, don't say that. I'm sure someone likes you. Maybe they're just shy," Jesse said, trying to be subtle with Willow. Despite his crush on Cordelia, he had held true affection for the Jewish redhead. His infatuation with Cordelia was more his way of trying to move on.

"I don't know Jesse. I just get tired of everyone seeing me as some mousy girl that can't get a date, let alone talk to a cute guy," Willow said looking down. Jesse knew she meant Xander but chose not to comment.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright. Come on, let's dance," Jesse said, rubbing the space on her back between her should blades.

"Thanks. You go on ahead and mingle. I'll be fine," she replied. Jesse hated leaving her alone like this, but decided to give her some space. He knew that Xander's presence would be the thing that would jar her out of her misery. Jesse couldn't really so anything, so he settled for patting her shoulder before setting off to find a girl to hang with.

Jesse's attempts at flirting weren't going as well as he'd hoped. Every girl he tried talking to either looked like she was taken or she was just annoyed by him. When he chanced a glance at Willow, he saw that Buffy was with her and she had perked up considerably. As he looked up, he saw the school librarian looking down form the balcony. He thought it odd as Xander had described the man to be 'stuffy and British' to really be in a place like the Bronze. The band began playing a slightly faster song as the drummer played a beat similar to a marching band. As the lead guitarist began playing smoothly, Jesse began looking for more ladies. Soon the bass guitarist joined in a a semi-hardcore fashion. The song made for a nice alternative rock piece. Soon the lead singer began the song. Jesse spotted his crush not too far away and decided to maybe try and get her attention again. He heard her talking about some thing or another involving her mother. He didn't really care much but he just enjoyed her reactions to his come-ons.

"Hey Cordelia!" Jesse greeted excitedly.

"Oh good, it's my stalker," Cordelia said sarcastically to her friend.

"You look great as always. You wanna dance?" he asked.

"No. But I'm glad we had this chat. Now shoo!" Cordelia said giving him the brush-off.

"Okay. No worries. Plenty of fish in the sea. Oh yeah. I'm on the...who am I kidding," Jesse said, his act deflating with him.

As he moved towards one of the walls of the club, he noticed a blonde girl smiling at him. She was looking at him with a sultry gleam in her eyes that he barely recognized. As he got a good look at her, he noticed that she was wearing a dark blue sweater and a plaid skirt. He thought back to Gabriel's words and immediately started feeling fear. He wasn't sure what to think of this development; whether or not Gabriel may have paid this girl to stalk him or if this is some sick joke.

"Hi," she said in a voice just as sultry as the look in her eyes.

"Hi. I'm Jesse," he said reaching his hand out.

"Darla. It's a pleasure," she said taking his hand. He immediately noticed how cold it was. He had known people who were anemic but Darla's hands were practically freezing. He wondered if Gabriel was really setting him up for something. He felt something was off about Darla but he couldn't really tell for sure what it was.

"It's amazing how much this song speaks about birth. If one thinks hard enough, it also applies to rebirth," she added.

"Yeah. It's really cool. They're one of the best bands around. So do you live around here? I don't think I've seen you before," Jesse started.

"No. I'm just visiting family. Maybe you could meet them?" Darla said batting her eyes at the young man.

"Um...we just met. We don't even know each other," Jesse said. He missed Buffy passing him as she headed out of the club.

"Well, why don't you come with me and we can get to know each other really well," Darla said taking him by the hand and leading him out of the club.

Outside of the Bronze, Xander was finally approaching the building after getting over his encounter with Whistler. He wasn't sure what the hell the man was or how he did what he did. But one thing Xander knew for sure was that he felt stronger and different. He felt like the world around him had been opened up to him. It was a little overwhelming at first but then he found that if he focused enough, it would lessen the strain on his senses. As he was approaching the entrance, he spotted Buffy moving past him.

"Hey Buffy. Leaving already?" Xander asked as she approached. As she got closer, he felt something off about her, the closer she got. She could see a slightly dark and dingy aura coming from her. He shook his head to clear away the weird thoughts.

"Xander have you seen Willow?" Buffy asked in return.

"Not yet. Why?" Xander responded.

"I need to find her. She left with a guy," Buffy explained, gaining a shocked look from Xander.

"Wow. Way-to-go Will! Scoring at the Bronze!" Xander said, happy for his friend, not knowing what was going on.

"Xander focus! We need to find her! This guy could be dangerous!" Buffy said hoping to impress the seriousness upon him.

"I hope he's not a vampire because then you'd have to slay him, right?" Xander said, gaining Buffy's attention.

"Was there a school newsletter? Is there anyone who doesn't know about that I'm the slayer?" Buffy asked rhetorically.

"You're serious?" Xander asked not liking where this was going. As he thought about his question, he remembered his encounter with Whistler as well as his enhanced senses and what he saw coming from Buffy. He began to think on what exactly was going on in this town that a young girl would call herself a vampire slayer, let alone their being actual vampires.

"You know what? Follow me," Xander told Buffy heading away from the Bronze.

At one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries, Willow was following the guy she was talking to in the Bronze, named Thomas. She was honestly feeling pretty weirded out by the whole deal as she had never seen this guy before. She regretted her choice in following him out of the club.

"Well, this is nice...and scary. Where are we going exactly?" Willow asked, not getting an answer from him. He stopped in front of a mausoleum and reached out asking Willow to follow. She walked inside hoping this wouldn't lead anywhere as he took her hand.

"Ever been inside one of these before?" he asked, trying to play the cool guy act.

"Not till today. Well this was fun. Gotta go, bye," Willow rattled off and made to exit, only for the guy to grab her roughly and pull her back in, making her fall to the floor.

"Uh...what are we doing here?" Jesse's distinct voice asked as he walked in the mausoleum with a blonde girl Willow had never seen before.

"Jesse!" Willow shouted.

"Willow?" Jesse asked confused.

"What are you doing here?" he asked his friend.

"I could ask you the same thing. These two led us here and it seems weird," Willow answered.

'_You're telling me,'_ Jesse thought as he recalled his entire night.

"We should get out of here," Willow said, only to see Darla blocking their escape.

"No one goes anywhere until we've FED!" Darla responded, with her face morphing into something monstrous.

'_THIS is what Gabriel meant?! What the hell is she?!'_ Jesse asked himself as he felt a strange reaction in his body. Whatever Gabriel had done to him earlier was starting to kick in, almost as if responding to something within. Outside the mausoleum, Xander and Buffy were approaching. Xander himself was beginning to feel the effects of what Whistler did to him kick in as well. At the same time, he felt several different powers in the immediate vicinity. _'What the hell is going on?'_ he wondered as he and Buffy came to an open mausoleum.

"They're in there. We have to hurry!" Xander said. As he and Buffy entered, they saw the morphed faces of Darla and the vampire Willow left the Bronze with, while Willow was looking frightened beyond belief, and Jesse, strangely, was looking more primed than scared.

"Well, this is nice," Buffy says.

"You know with some decorations, throw pillows and furniture, this place can be called home," Buffy quipped, while Xander and Jesse looked at each other confused then at Buffy strangely.

"Who the hell are you?" Darla asked as she circled around Buffy trying to get close to Xander.

"Wow! So there's someone in this town who doesn't know who I am. Good. Because having a secret identity in this town is WAY too much-" Buffy was cut off as Xander launched a haymaker at the side of Darla's head knocking her to the side.

"Work?" Buffy said confused as no one she ever tried to help was brave enough to attack a vampire first. Even the other vampire was surprised by Xander's audacity.

"We SO don't have time for this," Xander said looking pointedly at Buffy.

"Point taken," Buffy said taking her stake out of it's place and approaching the vampire boy, Thomas.

As the slayer and vampire boy began fighting, Darla came to and snuck up behind Xander and grabbed him, putting him in a full-nelson. However, Xander put his arms up, bent down and slipped out of her hold, which allowed Jesse time to approach her and swing. As his fist connected with the vampiress' face, she flew towards the right wall of the mausoleum. As Jesse marveled at what he did, he noticed that red sparks of energy were surrounding his fist. Willow noticed it as well but didn't think further as she noticed Buffy had dusted Thomas. Buffy began fighting Darla, when Jesse noticed another presence sneaking up on the slayer.

"Xander, take Willow and go!" Jesse demanded. Xander almost objected until he noticed the same presence. Xander and Willow left the mausoleum and were making their way out of the cemetery when they spotted other vampires, dragging someone away. As they got a look at the victim, they realized the vampires were carrying away their classmate...

"Jonathan?!" Willow shouted, getting the vampires' attention. Xander moved away from Willow and approached the two vampires, who dropped their classmate.

The vampires began throwing punches at the young man, who managed to barely avoid their hits. In his head, he heard a voice that sounded strangely like Whistler's telling him how to avoid them. He was improving in the fight, and even threw punches that not only hit the vampires but had arcs of blue energy surrounding his fists. The vampires had enough and cleared out before he could do anything else.

"Jonathan! Are you alright?!" Xander asked as the shorter young man was coming to.

"Xander? What are...how did...why are we in the cemetery?" Jonathan asked trying to regain his bearings.

"Those guys attacked us. They were...uh..." Xander trailed off, looking to Willow who looked just as freaked out as their classmate.

"They were vampires weren't they?" Jonathan responded.

"How did you-" Xander began to ask.

"I've heard rumors from some of the adults. And the murders in this town makes sense if you known what information to look for," Jonathan responded. Xander was surprised by the mention but didn't question it for the moment.

Back in the mausoleum, another vampire named Luke had snuck up behind Buffy trying to gain an advantage, only for jesse to knock him off of Buffy. Luke had noticed the energy that was emanating off of Jesse. He realized that this could be more trouble than the slayer that he tried to take on. Luke fled out of the mausoleum with Darla right behind him. Jesse went to check on Buffy who seemed barely worse for wear after the fact. He was amazed that they had even survived considering what they had gotten into .

"You okay Buffy?" Jesse asked her.

"Yeah. What about you? How did you do that?" she asked in return.

"You got me. We need to find the others quick," Jesse surmised, exiting the mausoleum with Buffy in tow.

As the pair made their way towards the end of the cemetery, they spotted Xander, Willow, and Jonathan, whom Jesse immediately recognized.

"The hell happened to you man?" Jesse asked Jonathan.

"These two vampires jumped me when I was leaving the Bronze. When I woke up, I saw Xander and Willow and the vampires left. What are we going to do now?" the shorter teenager asked.

"We go home. We're safe for now. But these guys need to be dealt with sooner or later," Buffy answered.

"We can go to my house. My parents are out of town. They won't notice a thing," Jonathan offered.

As the five teens came to the Levinson residence, Buffy parted ways with them telling them that she needed to be home so that her mother would not worry. As the others remained, everyone called their parents, letting them now that they were safe. After the calls, everyone settled in for sleep, with Willow taking Jonathan's bed and the boys taking the floor. Sleep didn't come easy for any of them. Xander and Jesse had stayed awake, with the memories of the night still in their minds.

"Hey Xander," Jesse whispered so as not to wake Willow or Jonathan.

"Yeah man?" Xander responded.

"What the hell happened tonight?" Jesse asked.

"Well, we were attacked by monsters we thought existed in books and movies. And then found out the new girl had powers to take on vampires," Xander responded.

"No. Not that. I mean, Buffy I understand. She can kick serious ass. But I mean with us. Those weird powers we have. That wasn't normal," Jesse responded.

"Wait, were you visited by a badly dressed guy with a fedora by any chance?" Xander asked surprised.

"What? No. My guy looked like had just stepped out of the Dark Ages," Jesse responded.

"So we have similar powers then?" Xander asked completely serious now.

"Looks like. I guess that was you that I felt coming towards us when we got surrounded," Jesse thought out loud.

"I felt thing the same thing coming from you. You think this is all connected?" Xander asked his brother in all but blood.

"Considering what we saw tonight, just about anything is possible now," Jesse added just as seriously.

"Then I guess we need to speak to someone who knows this stuff," Xander said thinking of the one person who knows the most about Buffy.

"Who?" Jesse asked in kind.

"You'll see tomorrow. For now, we should sleep," Xander said closing his eyes. Jesse did the same.

As both young men fell asleep, their dreams were plagued by visions of death and destruction. On Revello Drive, Buffy was having similar visions as Jesse and Xander. They saw demons rise and humans die. They saw some of the most monstrous beasts come to destroy everything they all knew. Outside of the Levinson residence, Gabriel stood across the street as he reviewed what he saw of the young men tonight. He smiled as he knew both young men were capable of much as long as they could avoid the outcome that he suffered a millennia ago. With that last thought, he vanished in a puff of smoke, into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Author's note: So I'm really interested in what readers opinions are about this story so far. I mean, I'm getting followers but not reviews. In case you're wondering about why Xander and Jesse have similar powers, I'm going to explain that further on in the story. Also, I'm sure you're all curious as to why Jonathan is introduced so early on, and I'd like to explain. The vampires that were dragging Xander away in 'Welcome to the Hellmouth' had to have been doing the same thing that Darla and Thomas were when they found Jesse and Willow. I mean, the scoobies couldn't have been the only ones that those vampires actually caught unless those other vampires were just not doing their jobs. But you all see my point. On with the story.

Levinson Residence

Sunnydale

The sun rose and shone through the windows of Jonathan's bedroom. As the light hit the four friends on their faces, Xander and Jesse woke up first. Suddenly, an alarm on a digital clock on the nightstand next to Jonathan's bed went off, waking up Willow and Jonathan next. Everyone rubbed the sleep out of their eyes, all wondering if the previous night was a dream. Unfortunately, Xander looked at his hands and noticed that they were surrounded with that same familiar crackle of blue energy. Jesse looked at his hands and noticed his hands had the same crackle of red energy as well. Jonathan and Willow looked on and were amazed as they had seen it the night before and realized that what they had gone through was very real.

"Uh...guys?" Willow asked, getting her friends' attention.

"Trust me Will. This wasn't exactly something we expected either. To be honest, I'm not even sure I can use this stuff right," Jesse stated.

"Which is why we need to get expert help on this," Xander followed up.

"Who do you have in mind, anyway?" Jesse asked.

"The librarian," Xander answered with a serious look on his face.

"What would he know about last night?" Jonathan asked. Despite being thrown into the situation, he was just as curious about the why there were vampires and the abilities Xander and Jesse possessed.

"Yesterday, I heard him and Buffy talking about demons, vampires, zombies, and werewolves. But the weirdest thing was that they were talking about someone called a vampire slayer, which apparently is Buffy," Xander answered.

"With the way she kicked butt last night, I can see how. But then what about you guys? You two were pretty awesome. But what happened?" Willow asked.

"We don't know. But we'll find out," Xander answered.

Everyone bar Jonathan left the Levinson residence to return to their respective homes. The four teenagers met outside the entrance of the school and gave each other weak but hopeful smiles that maybe they will find answers. However, they each felt that the answers they would potentially learn would not be anything they'd like to hear. As they entered the building, they were approached by Cordelia and the Cordettes, blocking their way.

"Well, if it isn't the three musketeers and their mascot," Cordelia sneered happily. The four friends looked at the popular girls with a fair amount of contempt. With last night's events, they really weren't in the right mind to deal with Cordelia and the sheep who blindly followed her.

"Shut up," Jesse sneered back, moving past the girls, with his friends following. Cordelia looked at he four people she disliked for their differences, and realized that they looked different. Despite everyone in the school thinking she was just another dumb cheerleader, she did have greater insight than people saw. From the look of her four "enemies", they had been through something that seemed to make them more miserable than she ever said. Cordelia shook the thought away as she returned to her friends who were just as shocked at the reactions of the least popular students.

As Xander and the others made their way to the library, they noticed Buffy inside, speaking with Giles. Buffy was talking animatedly as if she were trying to impress upon Giles how crazy and messed up the situation was in all aspects. Feeling it was right time to enter, Xander and Jesse entered silently with Jonathan and Willow trailing slightly. Neither Giles nor Buffy realized they had company until Giles looked in the direction of the entrance.

"Um...hello," GIles tried to greet innocently.

"Hi," Willow said slightly smiling.

"How may I help you all?" Giles asked.

"We wanna know about what happened to us last night," Jesse started for the group.

"Oh. From what Buffy said, there were gangs members who were on...erm...I believe PCP?" Giles asked as he was not entirely familiar with the name of the drug. Buffy looked slightly convincing but Jesse and Xander could see through the act and looked at them with anger and irritation. Giles noticed and paled some as he realized that the two young men had a look that slightly resembled the one he wore on the days of his youth. He shook the thought away as he realized that with Buffy's story and the appearance of the four friends before him, the only thing he could tell them would logically be the truth.

"Alright. You all deserve to know the truth. If you'll allow me a few minutes, I need to gather certain material before I explain," Giles said as he went into the stacks. The teenagers sat at the table, thinking to themselves. After a few moments, Giles returned carrying about eight books in a stack.

"Now I shall explain everything, starting from the beginning," Giles said setting the books on the table, behind a globe.

"This world is older than you all know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons, demons walked the earth, making it their home; their...hell," Giles began. He immediately noted the looks of surprise and some horror on the faces of Xander, Jesse, Willow and Jonathan.

"In time they lost their purchase on this world, and the way was made for mortal animals. For mankind. What remains of the Old Ones are vestiges, certain magics, and certain creatures," Giles finished.

"Like vampires," Buffy threw in.

"And this is where this whole thing gets weird! I mean vampires?! Vampires? It's just too unbelievable," Jesse said.

"Am I sitting down?" Jonathan asked, in a near panic.

"Yeah," Xander answered.

"Good," the shorter teenager replied starting to calm down.

"So vampires are demons?" Xander asked.

"Well, yes and no. The books tell of the last of the Old Ones who left this plane that fed off of the blood of a human. He mixed their blood, infecting them, the human form possessed. This created the first of the vampires. He later bot another, and then another. Now, they walk the earth, feeding, killing some to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out. And the Old Ones to return," Giles finished with a grim look knowing this couldn't be sitting well with the majority of the group.

"Alright. So what exactly is a vampire slayer?" Willow asked.

"How do you guys know about that?" Buffy asked the redhead.

"Well Xander overheard you guys talking yesterday," Willow answered.

"YOU WERE THERE?!" Buffy shouted at Xander. Giles' eyes widened and they nearly bulged out of his skull, before he took his glasses off to clean them.

"Well yeah. I was returning this old book I had checked out when you came in. I guess he forgot I was still there," Xander explained.

"Nothing we can do about it now. At any rate, for as long as there have been vampires, there's been the vampire slayer. One girl chosen among many to fight the against the demons and to save the world. Buffy is the current slayer of this generation, since you all know, and it's best that this is kept a secret," Giles finished explaining.

"Why would it be a bad idea? I mean can't we tell anyone?" Jonathan asked.

"Believe me Jonathan, they won't even buy it. Plus police would only show up with guns, which won't work on vampires," Buffy responded.

"Hold on. Xander, you just reminded me of something," Jesse said after some thinking.

"What's that man?" Xander asked wondering where this could possibly be going.

"Mr. Giles, you said that the demons were on the planet way before any humans, right?" Jesse asked the watcher.

"Well yes. And Giles will do just fine Jesse," Giles responded in kind.

"Right. Well, maybe it's just me, but is there any mention of where exactly the demons come from?" Jesse asked.

"Well, not exactly as far as records state," Giles returned, confused by the young man's question.

"Well, when Xander was reading that book he checked out, there was something in there about a guy who fought something called the 'King of Hell'. Who would that be?" Jesse asked remembering the text that Xander had kept.

"Well, the records from the Watcher's Council suggest that it is something called the FIrst Evil, who rules Hell. Why do you ask?" GIles wondered.

"Well, you mentioned the demons taking control of earth but there was no mentioned of where they came from. Just that they were there," Xander completed Jesse's train of thought.

"Well, you both raise an interesting point. Are there any other questions?" Giles asked the two young men.

"Actually two. First, what do you have on angels?" Jesse asked. Giles' face took on a surprised expression at the question.

"Ad far as I can tell, no record of actual angels exist. At least not that the council has found," GIles answered, feeling slightly curious about that as well.

"Okay. What about on anyone named Gabriel?" Jesse asked, hoping for some answers.

"Gabriel you say? Well, there have been myths of a warrior who fought for a group known as the Brotherhood of LIght in the 11th century. But the council doesn't really take that story into account," Giles answered.

"So why is it in your collection?" Xander asked.

"I enjoy a good story every now and then," Giles answered.

"Why are you guys asking all these question?" Buffy wondered.

"Just thought maybe it would help to know something," Xander replied. He looked to Jesse and they both understood each other's messages. Neither of them should anything to the group until they have answers from the two visitors who gave them their power. Willow and Jonathan, however, caught on to the messages being sent. But no one chose to comment.

"At any rate, Buffy has informed me that someone warned her of an event called the Harvest. I'm going to be researching. But first I need your perspectives on how many vampires we may be dealing with along with what happened last night," Giles said.

The four life-long friends had explained the events surrounding their first encounter with the supernatural to the older British man. Giles himself was surprised that the vampires had not taken anymore teenagers from the bronze as the vampires would've been able to overtake any of them as they had none of the necessary precautions on hand. This only confirmed Buffy and Giles' statements that something bigger was going on. The only question was 'what and when'.

"I see. All things considered, it's best if you all meet back here tonight so we can figure out what is happening," Giles said.

The five teenagers left the library and proceeded to attend their classes for the day. As they sat in their classes with Xander, Buffy, and Willow sharing most of theirs, each of the five teenagers thought on the events and what it made them feel. For Jonathan, it was kind of odd that he would have a run-in with movie monsters ten times worse than was imagined. But then he had his own secret as to why he wasn't entirely surprised by vampires showing up. Willow felt as though she has just walked into a world where she felt like weak link, especially after seeing how Xander and Jesse handled themselves. Buffy was feeling guilty for having more people involved in her slayer activities. She remembered what happened the last time, especially when she was thrown into a psyche ward for telling her mom what happened. Xander and Jesse were taking everything the hardest. They were happy to have saved their friends' lives but the results opened up a brand new avenue of questions. The only ones who could give them any sort of real answer would be Whistler and Gabriel. But they weren't sure how to get in contact with either one. Luckily for them, the two didn't have to worry about finding them, as they would be found themselves. Both Whistler and Gabriel stood outside watching their charges.

The evening time found the five teenagers gathered at the school again as Giles had just found what he was looking for in the old texts that he had acquired. He had found the ritual that was required for the Harvest to take place. He looked up as the double doors of the library swung open with the students entering.

"You're just in time. I found what the vampires are planning. And I'm afraid it doesn't bode well. The Harvest is an event that entails a rather large massacre," Giles said as he took a marker and drew a three-pointed star.

"The Master will put a symbol like that on the vessel's head. The vessel will feed and the blood of the victim's makes the Master grow stronger. With enough the power gained, he will break the barrier that imprisons him and he will rise," Giles explained.

"Now just how bad is this Master guy?" Xander asked.

"Ah yes. I never explained that bit. The master is one of the oldest vampires in existence and I'm afraid he's also one of the most dangerous. He started out as many other vampires. But centuries of being one of the undead have...changed him. His face can longer take that of human form. He's a powerful fighter and has extensive knowledge of rituals. He once tried to open the hellmouth but an ensuing earthquake trapped him beneath the surface. He also has advanced psychokinetic abilities.," Giles explained.

"You want to run that last part by us again?" Jesse asked as thought he hadn't heard correctly.

"Oh. Um...he has strong psychic powers. As long as we can stop him, he won't be free," Giles said.

"So then the only thing we need to know is where this Harvest is taking place and who the vessel is," Buffy suggested.

"Well, they were taking us away from the Bronze, which means they might be going for everyone there," Willow offered.

"And I think I know who the vessel is going to be," Xander said.

"Who is it?" Buffy asked.

"Luke," Jesse said picking Xander's on thoughts.

"We need to hurry," Giles said as everyone exited the library.

Luke, Darla, and more of their minions entered the club intent on fulfilling the Master's wishes. They had forced the bouncer into the building and locked the doors to prevent anyone from getting in. As the vampires surrounded the crowd and shut off the power, Luke appeared on stage with his vamp-face on.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! There is no cause for alarm!" Luke declared as he steps into the spotlight revealing his demonic visage. Numerous gasps and murmurs can heard, even as the vampire smiled.

"Well, actually, there is cause for alarm. It just won't do any good," Luke said practically snickering to himself.

The group arrive to the Bronze just as Luke started to feed off of the crowd. They arrived at the side door, formulating a plan.

"Buffy, you go in from the back way and get their attention. Jesse and I will cover you. You guys get the rest of people out as quickly and quietly as you can," Xander said as he and Jesse looked primed for a fight.

"Xander, why on earth would risk yourself li-" Giles was cut off as Xander interrupted.

"Just shut up and go! We don't have time!" Xander shouted, catching the older man off guard. As they headed to the rear entrance, Xander and Jesse looked at each other and nodded, each understanding the non-verbal message.

The two young men followed Buffy into the rear entrance. Buffy used her cheerleading skills to get up to the balcony of the club without being noticed. Luke had finished draining his second victim, when Cordelia was being pulled to the stage. Buffy had managed to dust one of the vampires, gaining Luke's attention. As she fell to the ground level, the other vampires turned their attention to her, missing Giles and the other teenager's presence.

"Whoops! Guess you were busy. Sorry!" Buffy mocked her apology to the vampires.

"Oh good, the troublemaker. Where are your two friends?" Luke asked, coincidentally at the same time as Xander and Jesse had dusted two more of the vampires.

"Right here, Fang-face!" Jesse said as he and Xander came out of hiding. Cordelia looked on in shock as she saw the two guys who she felt were among the biggest losers, prepare to risk their lives to help save he and the rest of the crowd.

"Ahhh. Good. I hoped to see you two here tonight. I must admit I was surprised with that display of power you both showed. Even my master was surprised when I told him about what you two did. And while I don't know how you managed to gain such abilities, I know that you both could probably serve as more of challenge than your slayer friend," Luke explained, as the crowd watched on.

"Hey! I'm standing right here!" Buffy yelled in mild outrage.

"What can I say? They have something you don't. Get them!" Luke order the remaining vampires.

There were about four vampires, besides Luke and Darla, who proceed to attack the super-powered teens of the group. For Buffy, her natural cheerleading training and combat training had allowed her to take on two vampires at once. Xander and Jesse however were still hesitant until they both felt their powers come back in full force. As one vampire attacked them both, they felt stronger and more reflexive, as if their powers were guiding them.

Xander was fighting a female vampire, who attacked with a high jab only for Xander to duck and come back with a right hook that sent her spinning. He took the stake from his jacket and stabbed her in the heart, dusting her immediately. Jesse had been engaged by a blonde male vampire who was a bit more forceful than the female that Xander handled. However, Jesse proved more aggressive as he dished out more punches to the vampire before he had enough and staked him. The two young men turned around as they could hear what sounded like Giles struggling until they heard a feminine scream and saw Darla running out with smoke coming from her head, as some of the remaining crowd looked on. The boys looked up as Buffy was handling Luke fairly well, when she took one of the metal microphones stands and chucked it at the dark tinted window. They saw Luke stand up and freak out as the light hit him. They realized, before the vampire did, that it was too late as Buffy staked him. Luke fell off the stage and crumbled to a pile of dust when he hit the floor. The group reconvened and ushered the rest of the crowd out. As the group came outside, Jesse offered to walk Cordelia home. With the danger gone, the streets felt a little safer.

Hiding behind one of the bigger crates, a man dressed in black slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a black blazer, along with dark slightly spiky hair, saw everyone that passed by, including two vampires who fled the club in fear, including Buffy's group.

"She actually did it," the ensouled vampire, Angel said to himself. He had his doubts that the Harvest would've been prevented as most slayers would not have been able to handle such a danger alone but she had. He suddenly sensed the presence of two powerful entities close to him; one of which he hadn't felt in almost two centuries.

"I believe you mean _they_ did it, Angelus. After all, the girl was not alone," Gabriel said, coming upon the cursed vampire.

"You! What the hell are you doing here?!" Angel demanded hoping he wasn't being set-up by the Powers. Another presence alerted him and he turned slightly to his left.

"He's not the only one Angel. Or perhaps, I should say Liam," Whistler said standing in front of Angel.

"Whistler, what are- you're not Whistler," Angel said as he caught the scent of who he believed to be the balance demon.

"You're right. I'm not that '_demon_' that the Powers sent to you. I've relieved him of his job, since he'd rather not have gotten involved by this point," '_Whistler_' responded to Angel.

"So who are you? And why would Whistler leave the fight since he was the one who brought me into it?" Angel asked.

"Because Liam, he had foreseen the events that were supposedly destined to happen. However, as I've learned in my long life, free will means that mankind allows for change. Besides, those damned Powers have been to complacent in keep the war against evil neutral. And it's time the game changed," Gabriel replied with his eyes glowing intensely, causing Angel to step back in fear.

"What will you do?" Angel asked despite himself.

"Whatever it takes. Not leave. And keep your distance from the slayer!" '_Whistler_' said as Angel fled.

"So what do you suppose happens now, my friend?" Gabriel asked.

"Only what the two young men choose with their new abilities. We've already unlocked the potential they have. And they'll need help to discover the true extent of their powers," '_Whistler_' answered.

"So are you implying that you'll tell them of you're true identity?" Gabriel asked.

"That depends. You going to tell them that you changed your name to Dracul?" the fedora-clad entity shot back. Gabriel chuckled as he remembered the last time he had used that name. However, it was humorless as he remembered why he changed his name.

"Point taken. At any rate, how do we proceed now?" Gabriel asked again.

"This time we switch. And we will show them the more recessive side of their respective abilities," '_Whistler_' replied before vanishing as Gabriel disappeared as well.

The next day found Giles and the five students talking amongst themselves about the previous night's events. Buffy and Willow were chatting animatedly about ways that Buffy could be kicked out as Giles and the boy watched on. Giles had mentioned that stopping the Harvest only prevented one major disaster and that there be more. This caused the males of the group to just stare blankly at the two girls as they walked away.

"The earth is doomed," Giles said, pushing his glasses up his face as he walked away. The boys stared out in the direction the girls left. They all had the same response.

"Ooooh yeah."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Author's note: Okay! Seriously! Thank you all who have reviewed so far! I thought at first the story may have been too slow for anyway to really get into it. But I figured that there are Castlevania fans of the original series, but not as many for the reboot, which is a shame because it is an amazing story. I'm going to be jumping to major points in the timeline of the buffyverse anyway. Now, I'm sure you guys are confused about Whistler's identity in this story as you may have been in my sequel to Hand of Fate. If you know the mythology behind Lords of Shadow, then you can see where I'm going with this. You see further down the line what I have in mind for Jesse and Xander and Gabriel's role in all of this. Now on with the story. And don't forget to review. Thanks.

Crawford Street

Abandoned Mansion

Gabriel sat in the mansion he finished furnishing as he thought about the situation with Alexander Harris and Jesse McNally. '_Whistler_' was the one who came to him to inform of the task that would put him on the path to not only helping others, but to also free himself of the immortality that he came to view as more of a burden. It had been more than a 1,000 years since the battle that made him what he is today. He thought sadly how much Laura's mother was right; that he would be one of them at the end of it all. The only saving grace was that he was nothing like Carmilla when they had fought. He still had his soul and he did not die. However, years afterward, he wasn't so sure why he had remained the same man. He thought back to his battle with his only son. The event was permanently etched into his mind.

_1072 A.D._

_Bernhard Castle_

_Wallachia_

_Gabriel, or Dracul as he renamed himself, stood in the middle of the field in front of the castle's entrance. Bodies of knights of the brotherhood were strewn everywhere, with only Gabriel at the center of it all. He looked to his right to see a figure with a sword on their hip, which the figure unsheathed revealing the blade to be curved, taking a defensive stance. The figure was wearing armor similar to Gabriel's, except for the coloring, which was black and outlined with bronze. Even stranger was that the mysterious figure has hair as long as Gabriel's, except it was silver in color. Gabriel smiled as he got a good look at his challenger._

"_Come to take back the honor of the Belmont name, aye son?" Gabriel said almost laughing._

"_Yes. It seems fate has given me a second chance father," the son said to his father._

"_And why do you suppose that is, Trevor?" Gabriel said, reminding his challenger of what was taken from him._

"_DON'T EVER CALL ME THAT AGAIN! EU SUNT ALUCARD!" Trevor, or Alucard, hissed back at his father._

"_Do you really understand the reasons why you fight now? Did you ever understand them before?" Gabriel asked as he formed a blade made of shadow magic._

"_I understand that everyone put their faith in a man who would only become a monster! And when I defeat you, I shall rid the world of myself so that it doesn't suffer the same fate! And you will pay for the murder of my mother and wife!" Trevor shouted as he charged his father._

_Gabriel me his son's challenge and ran towards him. Trevor surrounded his blade with light magic and swung his sword and he and his father came near each other. The power that the two were using caused a resulting shockwave that spread out about a hundred yards, even rocking the castle. The two vampiric warriors continued to clash their blades with force that echoed across the land. However, Gabriel had years of being a vampire over his son. His skills in combat and magic allowed to be more than a match for Trevor. Gabriel knocked his son's sword out of his hands but that didn't stop the younger vampire. Trevor charged and and swung his fists at his father, wanting to wipe the smug look off the older vampire's face. However, Gabriel simply sidestepped and diverted Trevor's fists with ease. Finally, Trevor went for a straight punch to Gabriel's face when his father caught his fist with his right hand. The father charged shadow magic into his left fist and struck true at his son's abdomen, causing Trevor to cough up blood. The son fell to the ground feeling as weak as regular human with the hit he took. Gabriel walked up to his son and looked down at his crouched form._

"_This fight is over. You cannot win, my son," Gabriel said with no smugness or malice. Trevor simply looked into his father's eyes and saw sincerity and, oddly, sympathy._

"_Why? Why did you let it go this far?!" Alucard shouted. Gabriel stopped in his tracks._

"_I am tired, Trevor. I am tired of this existence that I was forced to endure," Gabriel answered simply._

"_What do you mean? You chose this life. This cursed life that you and I walk," Trevor shot back._

"_But that's not the entire story. I'm sure the members of the brotherhood never told you. Perhaps you would like to know," Gabriel said simply to his only son. Trevor said nothing and only looked at Gabriel._

"_The truth is, I did kill your mother. But it was not of my own volition. I loved her with everything I had in my heart and soul. She meant everything to me. But we were both destined to fall. You know of the spell the founding members used. They transcended their earthly existence. But their bodies encompassed so much darkness that they came to life and became the Lords of Shadow. I fought my way to two of them and slew them both. The third masqueraded as an ally. Zobek, as he was then, assumed the guise of a warrior aiding me, so that I could take them down. But he was the Lord of the necromancers, using me to obtain the power he sought. But it proved useless as Satan himself had used him. Your mother, and many others in the spirit realm, helped me. So I fought the angel. And sent him back to his prison," Gabriel explained to his son. Trevor's eyes widened at hearing that the first of the fallen had been behind everything. He had heard stories from his mother and the brotherhood members but could never believe that his own father contended with the first of the fallen and lived, which was a true marvel._

"_But after that, my fate was truly sealed. Laura, Carmilla's daughter, sought my help as a demon known as the Forgotten One, was breaking through the barrier the founders set in place. So she took me to the portal's gateway, which led to the elemental plane of darkness. A terrible realm that likely almost rivals Satan's domain. I couldn't set foot into that place without giving up everything that made me human. Laura told me to drink all of her blood. And so I did," Gabriel went on. Trevor's surprise never left his face, as he had never truly understood how and why his father became what he was at this point._

"_I found the demon. And I managed to fight him, when he weakened himself trying to break through the barrier. But he still proved too powerful. When his power was returning, I took it from him, and destroyed him. Since I returned, I have realized that fate is a cruel thing to believe in. Was I really meant to have become the most powerful creature of the night? Or was this some cruel cosmic joke. When you came to challenge me over thirty years ago, you had the same potential I had. But it was a losing battle. After what I had done, I realized that I couldn't leave you that way. We both needed a chance to change something in the world. It seemed the only way to escape it," Gabriel finished explaining. _

"_How were you manipulated into killing Mother?" Trevor asked._

"_Zobek had possession of the Devil mask. He placed on it my face and he took control so that the prophecy would be set in motion," Gabriel answered._

"_And what about Sypha?" the son asked his father._

"_I would not have wanted her dead, Trevor. I cannot control the demonic forces from doing as they choose. You were only doing what you believed to be right," Gabriel answered. The elder vampire looked at his son, before he approached. He stopped just three feet in front of Trevor, reaching his left hand out. A blue aura with crackling energy enveloped his hand, and another aura covered Trevor. He instantly felt better and stood and looked to his father._

"_Was that wise of you? What's to stop me from trying to kill you again?" Trevor asked, hoping his father understood where he was coming from._

"_If memory serves, you couldn't best me on this night. Besides, I gave you the truth. The only question now, is what will you do with it?" Gabriel pondered before going back to the castle. Trevor watched his father walk away deciding that they would meet again when he knew the time was right._

Present Day

It was that night that Gabriel knew for sure that his existence could not go on forever. He hadn't fed on a human until the night that Zobek had mysteriously resurfaced. He had believed the Lord of necromancers to have died before he was brought back to life. But upon sensing his presence, and feeling the power behind that blast, he knew that it was not the same man that he manipulated him almost a millennia ago. He remembered the man mentioning Satan's acolytes preparing to make way for his comeback. But since he had regained his full power, Gabriel had not sensed anything wrong until now. He was brought out of his reverie as '_Whistler_' appeared in the mansion, wearing a smirk.

"You know, sitting in the dark while brooding can get tedious. Besides, we already have one vampire that does so, already," the fedora-wearing entity quipped.

"Comparing me to that weakling is as blasphemous as one of your kind mating with a human, or an Old One for that matter," Gabriel responded, without humor. '_Whistler_' dropped the smirk on his face as he realized that the vampire didn't like being compared to Liam, as they've taken to calling him.

"Fair enough. At any rate, I wanted to see if you're aware of what's happening," the mysterious being replied.

"Yes, I know. A powerful demonic vampire will rise tomorrow evening. But it's nothing we can't handle. Unless, it's the boys you're worried about," Gabriel pondered out loud.

"You're right. I am. They need to be shown the other aspects of their abilities. This time I will take McNally. You take Harris," the fedora wearing being said before vanishing.

"You'd think he'd learn to say please. Oh well," Gabriel said, as he got up to grab an old book from his bookshelf. He opened the text and flipped the pages to the correct page. He knew that the principles of light and shadow magic had been applied to protection and aggression, respectively. However, he knew that the two powers had some things in common. He figured that he'd just have to test the boys the next night. He just hoped the slayer and her watcher could keep everything under control.

The next day

Xander Harris was not having the best month of his life, which was saying something considering his life before meeting Buffy. At any rate, the few weeks after preventing the Master from rising had been a trip into the surreal. The first was the discovery that another life-long friend had been acting strangely. Her name was Amy madison. Since the cheerleader tryouts, they noticed that Amy was behaving oddly as she was never one to really go for something like it. It turns out that Amy's mother, Catherine, was a witch wanting to relive her glory days, so she switched their bodies. Giles found the spell necessary while Buffy, Xander, and Jesse held her off pretty well. Amy returned to normal and resumed her normal day-to-day activities.

The next disaster was the disappearance of their science teacher Dr. Gregory, and the arrival of the substitute, named Natalie French. Her appearance had caused a bit of a stirring of attention among the male student populace. However, the incident came to a head when French had become interested in Jonathan, which for him sent off a signal in his brain, as he had never drawn the attention of any female before. When he was kidnapped, Amy had found out after hearing a conversation between Xander and Buffy. She had joined in the search effort and was the most active in finding him. They managed to get to the shorter teenager just before they found her revealed mantis form ready to devour him and killed her. However, it was the drama from this week that made it practically unbearable for Xander.

Buffy walked with him to his locker as she rambled on about how after the patrol, she went to the Bronze and found her crush, Owen Thurman, with Cordelia. Xander had tried to reassure her, especially considering Cordelia tendencies. However, his words fell on deaf ears as she continued rambling until Owen showed up and asked for a retry on their date. Xander just opened his locker and pretended as if they didn't exist. Despite his crush on Buffy, he sometimes felt as though he was just grasping at air in his attempts to show Buffy that he could be the one for her. He was the only guy who liked her for her and knew her secret but had not run away but jumped in to help. Still, he figured maybe he should back off for now. He heard Owen ask Buffy if they could try going out again that night and Buffy readily agreed.

Summers' Residence

Evening

Xander sat in Buffy's room, shaking his head at how he could've possibly gotten to this point even with female friends. He had to endure Buffy inviting him over, a small part hoping she'd ditch Owen, to ask for his help in picking an outfit to catch another guy's attention. He would normally throw in a joke, even go so far as to pick out a heavily padded coat, to alleviate the irritation. But ever since the incident with Amy's mother, where she'd called him one of the girls, he knew his luck with her was likely to get worse.

"Hey, if it's alright with you vixens, I'm going to head over to Jesse's," Xander said moving towards the door.

"Noooo! Don't go!" Buffy said, sad that he was leaving.

"Sorry Buff but I just need to...do...something," Xander said making his way out of the room. Buffy watched him go with a sad expression but then went back to choosing outfits. Willow looked at Buffy then at the bedroom door. She could tell that Buffy's treatment of Xander was getting to her friend. She had always seen how much better he was than the guys that they had known but the demeaning was clearing getting to him and Buffy either was blind or didn't care. She turned back to helping Buffy pick an outfit and chose to keep silent.

Xander was just about at the door, passing the living room. Joyce Summers saw the young man heading out and moved to check on him. Next to the spot on the couch where the Summers matriarch sat, an 11 year-old brunette girl sat looking at the young man and her mother interact.

"Is everything alright Xander?" Joyce asked her daughter's friend.

"Yeah, everything's cool Ms. Summers," Xander replied with a somewhat fake smile. The expression dropped from his face as Joyce looked at him, slightly annoyed for his attempt at lying to her.

"Okay. Maybe not entirely but it's not anything I can't deal with," Xander followed up.

"Xander. I can understand if you feel sad about Buffy's date. It's never easy seeing someone you like with someone else," Joyce said hoping to cheer him up.

"Uh...why-" Xander was cut off.

"I've seen the way you look at my daughter. You're probably the best young man that I've seen to come along for my daughter. And you being there for her keeps her out of trouble. I wish I could tell you something that would make you feel better. But all I can say is don't let this stop you from meeting someone who will make you happy," Joyce said. Xander couldn't form a good enough reply to the mother of one of his only female friends. He just nodded before he grabbed the door knob and turned it. As he opened the door, he was met with a man in his thirties with dark brown hair to his shoulders, a goatee connected to his mustache, and slightly pale skin. He was wearing a burgundy, short-sleeve shirt with dark-blue jeans and black shoes.

"Are you Alexander Harris?" the stranger said, in a Romanian accent, looking at the young man before him.

"Yes. And Xander. JUST Xander. Please," Xander replied hoping to get his message across.

"Very well, Xander. My name is Gabriel Belmont. I've been wanting to meet with you for some time. It's a pleasure," Gabriel said, sticking his hand out as a show of good manners. Xander wanted to shout vampire until he looked at Gabriel's hand and realized it stretched beyond the threshold, which vampires couldn't even pass. He took the strangers hand and shook it.

"Excuse me, how may I help you?" Joyce cut in, hoping to keep Xander from any trouble.

"Forgive me ma'am. I really should use more manners. My name is Gabriel Belmont. I'm an...investigator. I'm here regarding the recent events that happened in this town," Gabriel lied. The last thing he needed was to draw the suspicion of the slayer, let alone the boy he needed to speak with.

"Oh my. Why do you need Xander?" Joyce asked hoping everything was alright.

"He's been a key witness to the events and I need a statement from him. Xander, if you'd please," Gabriel said, moving aside for Xander to step out of the house. Joyce closed the door but peaked out the window to keep an eye on her daughter's friend. The two men walked away from the porch to talk. However, Xander stopped as he wanted to be prepared.

"So who are you really?" Xander asked the older man.

"Hmph. You're as quick-witted as your friend, Jesse," Gabriel replied, nonchalantly.

"Wait a minute. You're the guy who gave Jesse his powers," Xander realized.

"Well, yes and no. It is true, I helped awaken the potential that lies within him. But '_Whistler_' did the same for you," Gabriel said hoping his plan would work.

"So you guys are working together? Give me one reason why I shouldn't knock you across the street?" Xander said as his body lit up with the blue aura and crackling arcs of energy.

"Because you need to know how that power works as well as understand certain aspects of your friend's power," Gabriel replied, crossing the distance so fast that Xander barely had time to blink before a fist connected with his face. Joyce watched and gasped, which Gabriel heard and looked up to the window. He realized that she had been watching and thought it best that she see what was happening.

"If you're going to fight me, I suggest you get up. After all, the power of light should be able to help you. Concentrate on healing yourself," Gabriel said to Xander. The young man,who felt like he was hit with a wrecking ball, did as he was told and instantly his cheek was healed. He realized that if the man was lying, he would be dead especially since he knows about his and Jesse's powers.

"What the hell are you?" Xander asked, keeping on guard.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. But one day I can tell you the full story that you know. So tonight, stay with the slayer and her mother. The watcher and your friend should be here soon," Gabriel said before leaving in a cloud of smoke. Xander's eyes widened as he realized that Gabriel may not be as human as he seems, which is odd since most demons he's seen in Giles' book don't disguise themselves so well. He moved towards the door and went back inside. He saw Joyce and the little girl move to him.

"Xander, sweetie are you alright?" Joyce asked checking his face for bruises.

"I'm fine. What's..." Xander stopped as he realized the worst.

"Yes. I saw everything. Xander what is going on here?" Joyce asked as she had never seen anything like what Xander and Gabriel did. Xander looked into the older woman's eyes and knew that she might not be able to repress this. Xander asked her and the little girl to come back to the living room. He sat down and explain everything that happened when he met Buffy, even the parts about Whistler and what happened outside with Gabriel. Joyce seemed to take it better than he thought she would.

"So they're really real. I can't believe it. I should've listened to her," Joyce said as the last part caught Xander's attention.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"Mr. Summers and I sent Buffy to a psychological ward because we thought that she needed mental help. But she was telling the truth the whole time," Joyce said, feeling guilty.

"Well, until you see evidence of it yourself, it's always hard to believe. But then considering how often the 'incidents' go unsolved in this town, someone should've suspected something," Xander replied.

"You're right. But what do I do about Buffy?" Joyce said almost in a near panic.

"Maybe you should let her do whatever she does, unless it involves her being out with a boy," the little girl spoke up. Xander and Joyce looked to the little girl with skepticism until they realized she had a point. Buffy had the lives of a teenage girl and a slayer on her plate. And trying to keep her from either would wear on her more than help.

"That's an interesting assertion, Dawn," Joyce said to the little girl.

"Pretty sharp. Where'd you come up with that?" Xander asked her.

"I've listened to Buffy's conversations once or twice. And she never even knows," Dawn said giggling. Xander and Joyce smiled at her reveling in her ingenuity.

"At any rate, I suppose I won't have to be as hard on her. Thanks for telling me the truth Xander," she thanked the young man.

"No problem Ms. Summers," Xander responded.

"Please, call me Joyce," she answered smiling.

Not too far away from the Summers' residence, Jesse sat in his home reading on one of the books he asked to borrow from Giles. He figured that school would seem irrelevant to their survival since they lived on the portal that led to eternal suffering. The book he had in question was the same book that Xander was reading weeks ago before they found themselves mixed up in fighting demons. He was hoping to find something that may explain his powers but was coming up with nothing useful. Still, he decided to read it as one story caught his interest. Ironically, it was the same story that Xander had read, which neither of whom knew involved Gabriel. His mind was brought out of his train of thought when he heard his doorbell ring. His parents were out for the night and he figured maybe one of the gang wanted to come over. He walked downstairs and answered the door, to find a man wearing a fedora and a leisure suit. He realized that the man fit Xander's description.

"So you're this Whistler guy, huh?" Jesse asked recalling Xander's exact words.

"Wow, you're fast. Just as quick-witted as Xander. Hopefully, it'll come in handy when you have to figure out how else you use your powers. Believe it or not, there are some things your's and Xander's powers have in common. For example," '_Whistler_' lunged at Jesse faster than the young man thought was possible and nailed him in his ribs, feeling them break. Jesse coughed up some blood and fell to the ground, only to e caught by '_Whistler_'.

"What's the matter kid? Never took a hit before? Maybe if you think real hard, you can be better. If you can't do that, you won't be of much help, especially to Xander, whose had to carry to weight of the group," the being replied. His plan worked as Jesse snapped and thought of how Xander would never think that of him unless he proved it. Jesse concentrated and found that his ribs snapped back in place and were back to normal. However, his body felt different from before the man had attacked him. It felt as though he bones had somehow become harder.

"What was that?!" Jesse asked.

"The power of shadow has it's origins just as the power of light. Shadow is the absence of light. But then they both came from a source that has walked both light and darkness. The big question is how your powers are used, just like Xander. Remember that," the fedora wearing man said before exiting the McNally residence.

The mysterious being looked to his right and found an old Citroën heading his direction. He simply walked towards it while it was coming his way. Giles drove his car up to Jesse's house after passing that lone man on the street. He thought nothing of it until he noticed a flash of light in his rearview mirror. He looked at the reflection and noticed the man was no longer on the street, and that feathers were fluttering down to the ground. '_Strange. Very strange_' the Englishman thought to himself. Unknown to him, '_Whistler_' had sprouted silver-feathered wings and flew off into the sky.

20 minutes later...

The doorbell to the Summers residence rang, as Buffy, Willow, and Xander sat in the living room. As Buffy opened the door, she found Giles along with Jesse and was immediately disappointed.

"We have a problem! There was an incident last night where five people people were killed! One of them was a murderer named Andrew Borba," Giles explained.

"Wait, what does this have to do with the Anointed?" Buffy asked.

"It's possible that the Order of Aurelius was behind the incident and they may have turned him and he's the Anointed. The bodies are already in the funeral home. We need to -" Giles was cut off.

"Why do you insist on hurting me?" Buffy asked in all serious.

"What are you talking about?" Giles asked, as someone else came up behind him.

"Hey. Hi," Owen said seeing everyone there.

"You have a date," Giles said more than asked.

"Yeah. I'll talk to you tomorrow about those uh...late fees, BYE!" Buffy said moving past Giles before the older man could say anything.

"Bloody hell," Giles said, taking off and polishing his glasses.

"Don't worry Giles. We're all over this," Jesse said.

"What do you mean?" the Englishman asked one of the young men. The two boys looked at each other and back at Giles. They each held up and hand and their respective auras showed.

"GOOD LORD! H-how long has this-" Giles practically sputtered out before Xander answered

"Since the Harvest," Xander answered.

"Now let's go and get this annoying guy," Jesse said stepping out of the house.

"Um, anointed," Giles corrected following him, with Xander in tow. Willow could only stay behind not feeling like she would contribute much.

Three of the four men of the group arrived at the funeral home seeing nothing that indicated trouble until they saw about four vampires come out of hiding. Two of them went for Xander only to be knocked back by a blast of blue energy from him. Jesse was amazed and tried the same thing on the other two vampires. However, where Xander stunned two, the others were dusted immediately. Xander noticed and thought it odd, until he thought about Gabriel's words. He tried his attack again, focusing more on destroying them. As the blast flew with more intensity, it struck the two that Xander attacked, only this time, they were both dust as well.

"My word! Where on earth did you two learn to do this?" Giles asked the young men. Jesse and Xander looked at each other and then at Giles.

"Made it up," they both answered. Giles shook his head as he remembered his sentiment the morning after the Harvest.

They proceeded into the building and decided to split up. Jesse decided to stick with Giles so that the older man could stand a better chance against any vampires that may have been hiding. After about twenty minutes of searching, they met back up in a viewing room where Borba's body was kept. For Xander and Jesse, it was an odd experience seeing a body for the first time. It got even weirder when they saw movement from the body. Ten seconds later, Borba rose sporting the vamp-face.

"I have been judged!" the newly-risen vampire shouted. Xander and Jesse each raise an eyebrow.

"He is risen in me! He fills my head with song!" Borba shouted more. He approached the window and broke it down with his bare fists, making it shatter. Borba stepped into the room intent on killing everyone, not knowing who he as up against. He went for a right hook only for Jesse to block and knock him back as Xander shot a strong blast like he did minutes earlier. The blast struck true and Borba crumbled to a pile of dust.

"Well, that was a big letdown," Jesse said without much fanfare.

"Yeah. You up for hitting the Bronze?" Xander asked in return.

"Why? Buffy's gonna be there with Owen," Jesse said confused. He had noticed the way Xander looked at Buffy. It was the same way that he looks at Willow.

"Yeah. But better that than sit at home all night with nothing to do. We should bring Willow and Jonathan," Xander said shrugging his shoulders.

"I really need to find people my own age," Giles said to himself.

The next day...

"Wow. Sounds like I missed quite the night?" Buffy said walking with her four friends.

"Actually Buff, it was pretty dead, so to speak," Jesse replied.

"Well of course you think so. You just blasted them into nothing," Jonathan said with excitement for his two friends. He figured sooner or later he could let his secret out and he won't feel as lonely as was before.

"Still, it's pretty cool. You guys can just blast stuff and they get hurt. You're all super like Buffy," Willow almost rambled on.

"Willow, when you think about, it's not fair that she has to do this stuff by herself you know. I guess someone was looking out for her," Xander said, then thinking how true that statement was.

"Oh hey, there's Owen. I'll catch you guys later," Buffy said.

"There's Amy. See you guys in the library," Jonathan said walking to the dark blonde girl. Willow, Xander and Jesse were left alone. For Xander, knowing that he helped Buffy be with Owen hit him but not as hard as he thought. He realized that the chances of him and Buffy being together were slim to none. Jesse saw Willow look at Xander with longing in her eyes. He could only look at her the same way.

"Well, I guess I'll be off to the computer lab. Ms. Calendar wants us to start on a project. See you guys later," Willow said walking off. The two boys were left alone to their individual thoughts. They both turned around and began walking away from most of the students. They found themselves in one of the lounges in the school, that was devoid of students for some reason and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Is it me or does life seem make us the butt of it's jokes?" Xander asked his friend.

"I know what you mean. I guess maybe not everything changes. Still I wish she could see me the way she does you," Jesse said, not really thinking.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Xander asked wondering how they could wrapped up in something like this.

"Nothing man. I was just thinking out loud," Jesse responded.

"Nothing ever gets easier. But I guess that's our lot in life huh?" Xander asked.

"Maybe. It's not like we're good for much else huh?" Jesse returned.

"Now you two know that is anything but true," said a Romanian accent coming from behind Xander. They both looked to see Gabriel approaching wearing similar clothes but with a blue shirt this time, followed by '_Whistler_' who looked deadly serious compared to the last time either of the boys saw him.

"What are you two doing here?" Xander asked not liking the fact that they had to come out during the daytime.

"We've news that neither of you will like. The Anointed is still alive," '_Whistler_' replied.

"No way! Borba is dead! We both took care of that!" Jesse shouted.

"True. But the Anointed was someone else. He's now with the Master. If we could take care of him ourselves we would. Unfortunately, we run the risk of getting trapped in the same barrier as the Master," Gabriel returned, wondering when they'd put two-and-two together.

"So what do what we do about it?" Xander asked.

"You two will be training on how to use your powers. And during that time you will wait, until we let you know when it's time. Until then, you two be safe," '_Whistler_' said before he walked away from their charges.

"One more thing. You two learn more about each other's abilities as much as possible. You'll never know when one particular skill when be useful," Gabriel said before vanishing in a cloud of smoke, which the boys could see had red orbs of energy. They decided to just walk away to class before anything else could happen. However, they could've sworn they heard wings flap off in the distance. They didn't pay it much thought and left the lounge.

Higher Plane

A group of three divine beings sat in what appeared to be a garden with flowers growing on a crystal platform. They were gather around a pool that seemed to show the actions of the Gabriel, the being who had called himself '_Whistler_' around the slayer's group, as well as Xander and Jesse. They couldn't help but feel that there were so many variables involved that led to Gabriel and the other to take matters in this direction. Two of them knew a major part of it was their fault as they were the ones who foresaw what would become of the warrior who once fight for the same reasons that they did. They realized they could've kept him from his supposed fate. But they were barred from ever doing anything. Their train of thought was interrupted as '_Whistler_' returned to them, with his wings regressing into his back.

"I suppose these steps had to be taken. Or else the outcome would've been that of the other world headed for disaster," the first being spoke, with the voice being low yet feminine.

"You're right Carmilla. But you have to remember, it was not your fault that things escalated the way they did. That was Zobek's other half. He was the one that separated you all from the earth," '_Whistler_' responded to the former founder of the brotherhood.

"If you don't mind, we'd prefer to take you more seriously in you true form, Sachiel," said a deeper, masculine voice.

"Of course Cornell," was said when a bright light encompassed the being's body, showing a man with the same silver wings, only the man's clothes were replaced with what appeared to be white robes, with blue lining. His hair appeared to be combed back and was revealed to be silver.

"There. It's always good to come home," Sachiel responded.

"Indeed. Tell me, why do you suppose that the Creator had you find Gabriel and awaken the powers within those two young men?" Cornell asked his superior.

"I asked him that myself. And he told me to look into the other realms that the dimensional discrepancies had created. And what I saw was something that was unbearable. I saw worlds where the fight against my brother don't go as well as we would hope. And many of the humans left to fight just become overwhelmed time and again. In one, Barbas sought to create a new world and rule the humans, only to be stopped by Buffy and her former vampiric lover but with heavy costs. In another, the girl never arrived to Sunnydale and the Master rose. Her and many of the Chosen are left to believe that the war is to be laid on their bare shoulders when they could simply unite. However, the Powers, Elders, and sadly some of my brothers use the excuse of 'fate' to make them believe that there is no way around it. You've seen what could happen to those two brothers. But luckily, they have their free will intact. As for some of our other champions, I'll need to speak with those seeking to control them and remind them of why they are nothing like our Father," Sachiel said in a slightly angry voice lightning filled the skies above them. The higher being flew off into the distance.

"What do you make of it Carmilla?" Cornell asked his compatriot.

"I fully agree with him. Which is why I'm thankful that the Michael in this world is not the same as the others. He has seen what his blind loyalty does and that is why he will not interfere unless absolutely necessary. That may also be why the Creator asked Sachiel to go perform this task in his place," Carmilla answered.

"And what of Gabriel and the boys?" he asked further.

"He sees what we once saw in him. If it were possible, we would've warned him all those years ago. But he is determined to keep them from falling into the same darkness that he has experienced. If not for the Powers trying to take control where they weren't meant to. They assume to know much yet understand very little," Carmilla sneered.

"I understand. Perhaps one day, the Father will allow us another chance, to truly repent for the deeds we committed," Cornell said as he turned to walk away in one direction. Carmilla chose to go another way, leaving the third higher being alone. It was a woman with brown hair down her back and wore a white dress. She heard everything that was said and she had hoped maybe this world could be saved, as well as her husband on earth. She focused on the pool and saw Gabriel brooding even more in the mansion he had taken residence in. She had seen that look many times when she was with him. But now that brooding expression seemed to be permanent as she had not seen him smile since that fateful. A tear dropped from her eye as she saw that he held a portrait of her in his left hand.

"My love."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I really hate saying this over and over.

Author's note: So there you have it. You have 'Whistler's' true identity at least for the sake of this story. I've mentioned to my penpal, OneHorseShay, how most demons have a demonic visage, but Whistler doesn't. It's weird when you consider the mythology of the show, but then it's explained he's the child of a humanoid Old One, which wasn't even mentioned before, and one of the Powers That Be. This is something that should've been thrown in considering Whistler was the one who had shown himself to Buffy and brought Angel to her. Not to mention, Whistler shows some power that is not normal for a human. I honestly thought that something like this would've been best regarded before recent events in the comic continuation. Also, if you're wondering why I replaced him with a different race of creature, I figure that Whistler, given his revealed background, would be the kind of being that only does what the Powers ask so they get off his back. Again, for anyone whose wondering about Lords of Shadow, just look up information on the Castlevania wikia. If you're new to the series, you may like it. If not, I hope you enjoyed it anyway. On with the story.

Crawford Street Mansion

Sunnydale

Xander and Jesse sat in meditative positions in the center of the living area of the old mansion. Gabriel and 'Whistler', who unknown to Xander and Jesse was really the archangel Sachiel, watched on as the young men were bringing out more of their powers. It was interesting as the boys were able to go from doing simple energy blasts, and having enhanced strength and speed, to being able to expand their senses as a whole in the weeks following the incident with the rising of the anointed. What made the session even more interesting for the boys was the fact that they could sense that Sachiel and Gabriel weren't normal. And for the two beings, they weren't really worried until someone broke the reverie of silence.

"So what exactly are you two?" Xander asked, snapping Jesse out of his meditation as well. He had been thinking the same thing but wasn't sure how best to broach the subject. He figured it was too late and they may as well get it over with.

"What do you mean?" Gabriel asked, knowing full well what the young man was getting at.

"He means that you guys aren't even human. Or at least one of you are but you're not exactly the most normal one we've ever met," Jesse answered for his best friend.

"Alright. I suppose, I can tell you both the truth about myself. When I was a human, I fought for an order known as the Brotherhood of Light," Gabriel began. The boys immediately noticed that he used the name of the organization that they brought to Giles' attention weeks ago, after they first learned of vampires. They also realized that he said when he was human. They were immediately worried as they could be caught in a situation where their powers would fail them.

"I was chosen to help regain a great power for the light. However, it led to me having to no longer be the man I was. I defeated a great evil, which only gave rise to another. I destroyed it as well, but the power I gained from it, turned me into something worse than the transformation I had undergone. If you want a better explanation, than here it is," Gabriel finished, as his eyes glowed a bright blood red, and his opened his mouth, showing his fangs. The boys quickly moved away from Gabriel and charged energy into their bodies.

"I can't believe it! This whole time, you were one of them?!" Xander shouted, hating that they trusted the man before them.

"I am nothing like the vampires you've encountered before! I retained my soul before and after I turned. And before you ask, I am nothing like drunk lush of an Irishman that calls himself Angel!" Gabriel shouted back, knowing he was likely to be asked that question. Xander and Jesse were thrown off as they had heard about Angel from Buffy, but never would've believed (or maybe they would) that he was a vampire.

"What exactly do you mean about your soul? And what's with that guy Angel anyway?" Jesse asked, despite himself.

"I became a vampire just after I defeated Satan in a battle for the world," Gabriel explained.

"Wait a second, the devil is real?!" Xander asked starting to panic at the thought of the devil.

"He's more real than anyone could ever imagine," Sachiel answered.

"How the hell would you know that?" Jesse asked the angel in disguise.

"Close your eyes. And don't open them till the flash is gone," Sachiel replied. The boys did as they were told knowing, they may not like what they would see. Gabriel shielded his eyes as well, since he knew full well what Sachiel was. A bright flash encompassed the entire mansion and was gone in an instant. When the everyone opened they're eyes, they saw a man with silver slicked-back hair, white robes with blue lining, and the biggest feathered wings coming out of his back. Xander and Jesse stared with wide eyes.

"My name is Sachiel. Does this answer your question?" Sachiel asked, rhetorically. Xander and Jesse simply nodded their heads.

"Good, now Gabriel if you'd please continue your story," Sachiel said.

"Certainly. After I defeated Satan, Carmilla's 'daughter' Laura asked for my help in defeating a powerful demon known as the Forgotten One. He sought to escape his prison in the Elemental Plane of Darkness. Laura told me that I could only enter if I drank her blood and became a dark being. And so I did. I never died. My human weaknesses are gone and the only thing capable of defeating me is a being like Sachiel, you two boys, or even one of the higher ranking lords of the underworld. I defeated the Forgotten One. But I did not feel like the man I was until my son and grandson fought me. I...I fought my son and he was on the verge of death until I fed him my blood and he became what I am now. As for my grandson...he died, trying to live up to his father. I cannot take back what I've done. Only do what I can so no one will do what I had to," Gabriel finished, with a blood tear streaming down his left cheek.

"You're the guy from the story. I read a passage in a book that talked about your exact story with fighting the Devil. But the author said to watch out for you. Why is that?" Xander asked.

"The brotherhood had known for some time that I was likely to become what I am now. They could've just as easily helped me but instead they let me become a victim of prophecy that could've been avoided. After my transformation, they sought to destroy me, but underestimated just how strong I was. I defeated their armies," Gabriel said feeling some remorse for what happened.

"My guess is he didn't know either. After the Harvest, and we found out who Buffy was, I looked through some more books on references to the brotherhood. Apparently, Rinaldo was some sort of alchemist. I imagine that they wouldn't have let him in on too many things," Jesse said.

"Indeed. Anyway, I suppose we've done enough for one night. Your enhanced senses should help you hone in on anything that could be trouble. I'm heading back home to see if there's anything else I need to do," Sachiel said, fragmenting into a mass of light, before shooting upwards.

"He sure knows how to make an exit," Xander said still amazed that an angel, an archangel at that, was among them.

"Yes. I'm sorry you two had to learn this way. I would've preferred to be able to tell you myself in a way that wouldn't have seemed threatening. Now then, you two go on and join your friends. And be careful," the older vampire said.

"Alright. And thanks...for being honest," Jesse said. He and Xander took their leave as Gabriel went to his bookshelf and took out a random book. He stopped short as he felt a familiar presence that he had not been around for a very long time. He shook his head and let it go for the moment, unaware of the beautiful brunette woman who was hidden from him.

At the bronze, most of the entire group of teenagers were enjoying a simple night out in between the slaying of the town's troublemaking night-life. Jonathan was out on the dance-floor with Amy trying his best to look cool for the taller girl. He was managing surprisingly well. Jesse was chatting up any girl he could, hoping to pass the time, so he doesn't mope about Willow. Xander practically danced his way around the floor, till he spotted one girl he recognized. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was with her and Xander backed away until he bumped into Cordelia.

"OW!" Cordelia yelled as she looked at him angrily.

"Oh sorry bout that," Xander said, not really caring one way or the other.

"Yeah well, I-" Cordelia didn't finish.

"Yeeeeeah shut up!" Xander shouted back as he really wasn't in the mood to deal with snipes about him and his home-life when she didn't know a thing about him or his parents. Some times he wondered how someone could be so callous to judge others just because they lived a different life.

"Boy that Cordelia, she's...she's...oh screw it. What's going on ladies?," Xander asked, walking back to Buffy and Willow.

"You know. Just sitting here. Watching our lives go. Hey, a cockroach," Willow said, stomping on the insect.

"Well, I don't wanna stop your fun-time," Xander said, noticing the far-away look in Buffy's eyes. He knew that look all too well. It was the same look he gave her when he hoped she wasn't looking. He figured that she was thinking of a guy and figured it may have been Angel. He had heard from Willow how the slayer had broken up with Owen, when the night after the Anointed had risen, she was leaving her usual patrol of the cemeteries and was going to walk her home, when he was attacked by a newly risen demonic vampire. Buffy heard the scuffle and dusted it, saving Owen. The next day, he approached her saying he wanted to keep going out, having never felt so alive, only for Buffy to dump him. Her explanation was that he wouldn't last one more day if he really knew what she did.

"It's cool. I think I'll just call it a night," Buffy said, getting up from the table. As she made her way towards the exit, he noticed a pale man, with spiky hair, wearing a white shirt, black slacks, and a black blazer watching the slayer go. He noticed, thanks to his new abilities that he had some power, along with something else he couldn't quite discern. As the mystery man made his way out, Xander followed and made sure to keep a safe distance.

In a dark alleyway, Xander followed Buffy closely on the rooftops of the shorter buildings, when he noticed three vampires wearing armor hiding, waiting to strike. He quietly made his way over to one snuck up behind him and staked him. Unfortunately, the others had Buffy where they wanted her and dropped from their hiding places. Xander looked on as Angel showed up in the nick of time and evened out the fight. They had managed to stake the second but the third was proving a bit more difficult. Finally, with some luck, the third was staked and Buffy could no longer worry.

Xander saw Buffy and Angel chatting and noticed that their facial expressions seemed more subtle than expressive. It hit him that they were flirting with each other. They began to walk away and Xander decided to follow and quietly as he could. When they were outside Buffy's he stopped just short of a tree in one of their neighbor's yards on the sidewalk. He saw Joyce's jeep into the driveway just as Angel was turning around, meaning that Angel wouldn't be sticking around for too long. He knew that with that slip that Gabriel had about Angel, that something wasn't right. If he really was a vampire, why wasn't he trying to get them to invite him in? The thought didn't last long as Joyce did invite him in, as she, Buffy, and Dawn moved inside the house with Angel in tow. Xander figured he'd let it go for the moment and go back to his house.

Sleep wasn't coming easy for him as he thought about everything he learned. Since he found out about vampires and demons, he had adopted a black-and-white view, especially considering what the Master was trying to achieve. But then meeting Gabriel and Sachiel, and seeing them work together not only showed him that not everything as that simple with the ways of the world, but that maybe there was more to this than anyone thought possible. Xander could only hope that if Angel was another vampire with a soul, then he could actually help the group when needed and not just when it was convenient to be with Buffy. They could use the extra help but not if he was going to pick and choose when.

The new day was bright and sunny in the little town. But anyone who knew better, knew for sure that it wasn't always like this, even in the daytime. Xander and Jesse had arrived about five minuets before class, the first of which being a computer class taught by Jenny Calendar. Jenny calendar was a beautiful woman with smooth skin, dark hair just above her shoulders, and luscious lips that that anyone had seen. Xander had to admit that if he were older and not some pathetic high school student, he'd be going after the older woman for sure. He shook the thought from his head as the class started.

"Good morning everyone. Today we'll be working on designing a webpage using html. For those who don't understand, it's hyper text mark-up language," Ms. Calendar began, as she wrote the coding on the board for everyone to see. Xander spent the class not really wanting to get creative as he still had so much going through his head. He looked up and saw Ms. Calendar looking at him strangely. He turned back to his computer screen continuing his assignment. When the class was finished, he looked at his assignment, and while not the best, it was certainly adequate. Everyone walked out of the class, with Xander lagging behind.

"See you all tomorrow. Xander, a word?" Ms. Calendar asked, gaining his attention. Xander stopped and looked at his teacher, wondering why should would want to speak with him. He had never known any of the teachers to really bother talking to him. And when they did, it was usually to tell him what a worthless student he was. He decided maybe it wouldn't be so bad sticking around as Ms. Calendar wasn't like the rest of the teachers.

"Sure. What's...what's going on?" Xander asked slightly nervous.

"I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with you. Is there anything you need to talk about? Anything you want to get off your chest" she asked. Xander was caught off guard by the question. Most teachers didn't really care for a student like him. Usually, the teachers catered either to the smart students, the popular students, or the jocks. He guessed that the supposed prestige of those students made the teachers feel good about themselves, thinking they had something to do with it. Xander sat down at a desk in front of hers and felt like letting out some feelings he needed to get out.

Jenny sat and listened to Xander talk about everything in his life, from his home-life, to his bet friends, even to meeting Buffy, leaving out the nightlife that he and the gang had to endure to keep the town safe. However, she was no fool herself as she was well aware that the supernatural had a bit of a shake-up within recent months. Her contacts had informed her that a dark power had migrated to Sunnydale moths ago and instead and wreaking further havoc, it instead helped to exterminate the more dangerous demons. Even stranger was that there was talk of two powers in Sunnydale that had risen and grew stronger by the day. She noticed that Xander had held off of speaking about something whenever he spoke of his friends. She figured that maybe he might know of what was happening as he was friends with the slayer and the watcher. But she figured she would hold off on finding out.

"Well, I'm sorry about the way life has been for you. But you do have friends to be with you. And now you have one more. If you ever need to talk again, I'm always here," Jenny said, laying her right hand on Xander's left. She noticed him stiffen slightly as if he had never had that kind of contact. She then saw him relax visibly as he seemed to think for a second. The young man nodded to her and then got up to leave. He looked back one more time and she flashed him a smile. Her smiled faded as he left, with her thinking that this could become more complicated than she realized.

The school day was a virtual blur for Xander as he had endured his other classes as well as Willow and Buffy's girl-talk about Angel the previous night. It was angering and annoying, which was saying something for Xander as he had never felt both simultaneously. Still he pressed on and endured because he knew that Buffy would have to see the truth sooner or later.

That night, Xander headed over to Buffy's with her, Willow, and Jesse. As they neared Buffy's house, he and Jesse straightened up as they noticed something was off. There was something in the house and it felt dangerous. They heard a high-pitched, shrill scream as they came to the front of the house. Xander rushed to the door, right behind Buffy. When Buffy kicked the door down, they saw Angel holding Joyce, who was bleeding from her neck. Except for Xander and Jesse, they failed to noticed the blonde in the schoolgirl uniform sneaking past them. Xander signaled to Jesse to stay with the girls as he pursued Darla.

Xander could sense her as he followed her to a familiar area. The trail led him to the inside of a building that was empty but was still in business. As he went inside, he recognized the place as the Bronze. He could feel Darla's presence, which was practically going in a circle around him.

"Are you that big a coward that you can't stand to face a regular human?" Xander asked hoping to goad her out of her hiding place.

"Well, you weren't exactly who I was expecting tonight. Although you'd probably a much more loyal companion than Angelus," Darla answered coming out of her hiding place, showing her vamp-face.

"Xander? What are you doing here?" another voice said entering the Bronze. Xander turned around to see Angel with a confused look on his face. Xander turned back around and let his body glow in the blue aura of light energy, that crackled all around him.

"Scary," Darla said not feeling too worried. She revealed two handguns, one in each hand, and shot three times at Xander, who did not expect to see them. The young man took a bullet in his left pectoral, his right thigh, and one just above his stomach. Angel grabbed him and ducked behind cover. Xander focused as much energy as he could into forcing the bullets out of his body, which took some effort. The pieces of metal made their way out and his wounds were closed, but not completely healed as scars were left. Soon, he heard the door opened and he and Angel saw Buffy and the rest of the gang enter, after hearing the gunshots. The rest of the group split up to keep divert Darla's attention.

"Buffy! Darla was the one who attacked your mom! She set Angel up," Xander revealed, knowing full well how this would end once the blonde vampire was taken care of. He made sure to keep covered as Darla fired off more rounds, until the shots stopped, followed by a slight shriek. Xander and Angel looked up and saw Jesse standing behind Darla, who fell to the floor before turning into a pile of dust. Everyone got out of their hiding places. They each looked at each other and decided to head back to the hospital and call it a night.

The next day, everyone sat in the quad talking about the night's events. Joyce had been released from the hospital and had recovered well, which everyone was thankful for, as Dawn, Buffy's sister was the one who found it. Luckily, the little girl took it considerably well, which was saying something. Xander's wounds had healed considerably well, though there were scars left where the bullets hit. He never told the gang what happened to him as he figured they'd just get on his case for being reckless. He listened to Buffy tell Willow how even though he was a vampire, he was willing to give himself up so that she could do what she had to. He could hear the hint of romantic feeling in her voice and it only served to irritate him further as Buffy was another girl falling for that tortured soul, bad boy deal that many girls do. He figured at this point, he may as well cut his losses and save himself the heartache that he was likely to experience.

Xander walked off to the Ms. Calendar's class hoping to alleviate the negative feelings that threatened to consume him. As he sat down in the empty classroom, he noticed Jenny looking at him like the day before. He didn't see her approach as he just messed around on the computer.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Jenny asked hoping to cheer him up.

"I'm fine Ms. Calendar," Xander responded.

"No. You're not. I've noticed your behavior and it seems like you're avoiding something rather than face it head on. If it's about Buffy, then you need to let her know instead of just avoiding it like it's a plague," Jenny told him. Xander only looked at her.

"It's no secret to anyone who cares. I've seen the way you look at her. And while I think you'd be great for her, she just doesn't see it. And I'm sorry to be blunt but you have to at least tell her before you give up. Only then will you be at peace with it," Jenny explained. Xander looked down for a second before looking back up into her eyes that showed a lot of care, something he only saw in Willow. He smiled slightly at the the teacher.

"Thanks Ms. Calendar," Xander said.

"Anytime. And between the two of us, call me Jenny," she replied, smiling back.

"Alright. Jenny."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Once again, still no.

Author's note: Not too far from what happened on the show but not entirely similar. For me, I just feel like when you do major changes, the way the events go can change even down to who finishes it. For anyone who thinks it's too easy for Xander and Jesse to kill off most of the vampires, I'm going to be honest about something, when it really comes down it, the vampires in the buffyverse really only have the advantage of strength and speed over a human. Truthfully, Buffy should be able to handle every newly-risen vampire she comes across very easily, and at least hold off someone like Angel, Spike, or Drusilla off. But then it's easy to see that Buffy isn't as on par with her enemies nor does she have the mindset of someone like Kendra. Anyway, I've gotten question about the brunette woman at the end of the last chapter being the first, and no she isn't. I've actually described her appearance in chapter four at the end and i just shortened out her description but I should've been more clear. In truth, I find the whole deal about the first being locked in place because of the slayer balancing stuff out to be a bit of an odd reason why it didn't appear because you'd think with more than one slayer, it's confines can't be loosened. But that's just me. For the record, this chapter will finish one story arc, but is not the final. Now for the story.

The Bronze

The teenagers of the 'Scooby gang' sat in the club after the events of the last few weeks left them with a need to relax and feel normal for a change. After Darla's attack, they wound up dealing with Moloch the Corruptor, who was sealed inside booked and was freed when Willow scanned the pages. While two classmates died as a result, they saved Willow and the world from becoming Moloch's slaves, with Jenny Calendar's help. That was followed by the hellmouth bringing everyone's worse fears to life, which was due to a boy who was put into a coma by his baseball team's coach, who was arrested. The craziest was a classmate rendered invisible, simply from feeling like she was. She had been taken into custody so that she would be rehabilitated. Since then, the group has just relaxed with the occasional slaying done by either Buffy, Xander, or Jesse.

Xander sat at the usual table with Willow, going over how he was going to declare his feelings to Buffy. Willow knew for sure that his plan would fail because Buffy was very much into Angel. Still, hearing his words made her heart melt as she hoped he'd be able to tell her those words. She listened as her love interest did his best form the right words that he hoped would woo the slayer. Her mind began to drift as she listened, pretending she was the one he loved. However, she snapped out of her reverie when she noticed he stopped talking.

"Huh? Oh yeah, 'date me' sounds silly," Willow replied hoping he bought it.

"Maybe I should just start talking about the dance. 'Y'know Buffy, Spring Fling isn't just a dance. It's a time foe students to choose, um...a mate and then we can observe...their mating rituals and tag them before they'-GOOD GOD I'M DYING HERE!" Xander said as he put his face in his hands.

"You're doing fine!" Willow tried to reassure him.

"I don't get it. I'm gone up against and killed some of the most dangerous creatures known to man and I can't even form the right words to asking Buffy out," Xander said.

"Well, Buffy isn't just some regular girl. She's the slayer. She's practically Super-girl. And hey, you're like Superman with your new powers," Willow tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah but I don't want her to feel like I'm trying to steal her thunder. By the way, where is she?" Xander asked his best friend.

"Oh you know, doing the usual thing," Willow replied, to which Xander nodded.

In a field where the only present object for about three miles was a car with foggy windows, Buffy landed on her back after a nasty blow from a newly risen vampire. She rose and pulled out a stake, which caused the smile the vampire was wearing to leave his face. Buffy threw a jab at his face, grabbed him and kneed him in the stomach and staked him and watched him crumble to dust. Buffy looked at the car and could tell the occupants didn't notice her presence which she was glad for. As she turned to begin walking, rumbling was felt, which intensified very quickly. In the Bronze, occupants are fleeing, trying to find cover wherever they can. Inside the high school library, Giles his under the doorway to his office.

Underneath the town, was a lair of what used to be a church. Inside were two vampires; one was the little boy had was turned. He happened to be on the bus with Borba. The other was one who had lived for so long, his human visage had long since withered from his appearance. This vampire has white skin and wore a black leather outfit, reminiscent of an SS soldier. He had his hands outstretched as he reveled in what the signaling earthquake meant.

"Yes! YES! Shake, Earth! This is a sign! We are in the final days! My time has come! Glory! GLORY! What do you think? 5.1?" The vampire known as the Master asked the Anointed One.

The next day, everyone had met up in the library, which was in horrible condition from the previous night's earthquake. They noticed that Giles seemed more distraught than usual but no one brought it up. They went about discussing the night's previous activities and still Giles was behaving as if he was too scared to approach anyone. The group had left the library as they wanted some time between themselves before class. When it was over, the group met up and discussed how uneventful the day was. Jonathan broke away from the group as he spotted Amy and went to talk to her. This left Jesse and Xander with Buffy and Willow. They rambled on about a random topic until Xander interrupted.

"Hey Willow, don't you and Jesse have that thing to do?" Xander asked, hoping they'd take the hint.

"Oh yeah. Come on Jesse, let's go," Willow said, grabbing Jesse's hand and leading them away.

"What's with them?" Buffy asked concerned.

"Nothing. Just something they needed to take care of. So Buff, I was...wondering...I wanted to talk to you. Mind if we sit?" Xander asked hoping to alleviate tension.

"Uh...sure. So what's on your mind?" Buffy responded as they sat on a nearby bench.

"It's uh, kinda silly. But um...well, Spring Fling is a...time for students to gather and...oh man. Buffy. I would like to ask you to be my date...to the dance," Xander said straight. Buffy looked at him with her mouth slightly agape. She tried to smile to show her flattery but knew her answer was going to hurt.

"I don't know...what to say," Buffy responded slowly.

"Well you're not laughing. Listen, I like you. A lot. We've been through stuff together and I've seen how amazing you are. And I was hoping we could have more," Xander explained.

"Xander, you're one of my best friends. I don't want to ruin what we have already. I'm sorry. But I don't see you in that way," Buffy responded, and felt her heart break at the crestfallen look on his face.

"I get it. I'm not him. I guess I just can't be the guy that he is. It's cool, really. Thanks...for not laughing. I'll see ya," Xander said getting up and walking, not looking back or with his head hung low.

Inside the school building, Jesse had pulled Willow to an empty classroom to talk. Willow was a bit nervous about what was on his mind but decided to go with it anyway.

"So what's up Jesse?" Willow asked trying to anticipate where this was going.

"Will. We've been friends all our lives. And we've been there for each for laughs, cries, good times and bad. I was wondering...if you'd go to the dance with me?" Jesse asked as he waited for her answer.

"Oh my god. Jesse, I'm flattered but I...there's someone else," Willow replied. Jesse's face fell as all of his confidence died with her reply. He knew who she was referring too but chose not to comment on her interest, since it was his brother in all bar blood.

"Okay. It's cool. I guess I'll see ya," Jesse said leaving the classroom.

Xander sat on one of the empty desks in an empty classroom throwing a tennis ball at the wall and catching it. He kept repeating the act over and over as he wasn't sure what to do. Jesse came in a few minutes later. He recognized the look on Xander's face as he had been wearing since his own rejection. He sat next to his friend who kept throwing the ball, only for Jesse to catch it and throw it back.

"So how'd it go?" Jesse asked, breaking the silence.

"Shitty. Thanks for asking. You?" Xander responded..

"Same. Are we really that low that he girl whose lives we saved still don't see us?" Jesse asked raising an eyebrow, as they continued tossing the ball back and forth.

"Considering our luck, we have to be. But it's expected I guess. So. Feel like hanging tomorrow night?" Xander said getting off the desk, looking at Jesse.

"Sure. My house?" Jesse asked.

"Duh!" Xander replied laughing as Jesse did. It didn't happen immediately, but the two young men began to feel better.

The next day...

Sunset

Xander and Jesse had spent the day hanging around town just goofing off as they did when they were younger. For once, neither of them felt worried about anything. They just like normal young men enjoying the time they had while they could enjoy it. The two young men made their way back to Jesse's, just as the sky was getting dark. They had so much fun during the day that they lost track of time. They continuing goofing around even as the sky grew black. However, they stopped as they realized that it was too quiet. They made a break for Jesse's house and entered, quickly shutting the door. They both breathed a sigh of relief as they weren't followed. However, they still felt on edge as their powers were kicking in to full gear. They felt their respective auras flare up and surround them, and they had trouble trying to keep them under control.

"What the hell is happening?!" Jesse asked.

"I don't know! Whatever it is must big and bad for us to be like this!" Xander replied. They heard a banging on the door and looked as the it flew off the hinges, revealing Gabriel on the other side.

"You two need to get to the library fast! The Master is rising and the slayer went to stop him!" Gabriel said, impressing seriousness upon the two.

"What?!" Xander asked. After what Giles had told them, he knew the Master was not someone that even he would be able to take on. He hoped that there was someone who could.

"We don't have much time! Grab on!" Gabriel demanded. The boys each grabbed one of Gabriel's arms and they vanished in a cloud of smoke. In the span of five seconds, the smoke disappeared and the three found themselves in the high school library. Giles and Willow were there. So were Jonathan and Amy. What surprised Xander and Jesse was the appearance of Jenny Calendar.

"How did you do that?!" Giles asked as he held a wet cloth to his jaw.

"Not important. Where is the slayer?" Gabriel asked the Englishman.

"She went to face the Master. And who on earth are-" Giles was cut off.

"Giles, we don't have time for this! Why would she go to fight him?!" Xander demanded to know.

"There was a prophecy saying that the Master would rise tonight and that she would die fighting him," Giles answered clearly.

"This is bad. If the Master is still imprisoned, and she's going to fight him, her death may be the thing to release him," Gabriel surmised.

"We gotta find her, fast," Jesse stated.

"But no one knows where the Master is located," Jenny informed them.

"I think I know someone who might. Jesse, let's go," Xander said with Jesse following. Gabriel stood back to protect the others as he was sure they would all be vulnerable by this point. Jenny walked over to him to speak with him.

"Can I help you, Miss?" Gabriel asked the younger woman before him.

"Yes. Tell me how the most powerful vampire in existence is here helping us. Especially when he destroyed the brotherhood centuries ago?" Jenny asked as if it were no big deal. Gabriel's eyes widened slightly, as details of his past, after becoming a vampire, had either become obscure or were destroyed altogether. He looked at her and noted a familiar face he had seen.

"You're from the Kalderash Clan. But how do you know what most others don't?" he asked Jenny.

"My family goes all the way back to the time of the brotherhood and the Lords of Shadow. One of my ancestors had actually learned magic from Carmilla apparently. But why are you here?" Jenny asked, curious about the man who she assumed was just a legend.

"I'm here to help change the world. And before you ask, I am nothing like Angel," Gabriel almost seethed.

"I didn't think you were. You're here and he's not. Says a lot about you , actually," Jenny responded smirking. Gabriel smirked back as he thought of something.

"What about you? What is your interest in this group? Or perhaps it is Xander that has piqued your interest?" Gabriel asked with a smug look on his face as Jenny tried to hide a blush.

"As much as I shouldn't get involved in this matter, all I can say is be so forward or open with your affection. You save yourself a lot of trouble," Gabriel advised. Jenny looked at him before moving to the table to help with research.

In the basement apartment of one of Sunnydale's complexes, Xander and Jesse had arrived at Angel's residence. They managed to find it as they realized that Darla had small traces of the scent on her, as well as the scent that Angel himself left behind. Using their powers, they tracked him down and knocked on his door. The door opened revealing the cursed vampire.

"Oh good, look who's here," Angel said sarcastically.

"Mind if we come in," Xander responded in kind, as he and Jesse entered.

"Make yourselves at home," Angel said, feeling like this night was going to get worse.

"She's gone. To fight the Master," Xander said, getting straight to the point.

"What?! He'll kill her," Angel said as his worst fear for the blonde slayer was coming true.

"Rumor has it. But if you can get us there, we can get her away from him and then find another way to stop this," Xander replied.

"You're way out of your league junior. The Master would kill you both before you could even breath. And that's if you're lucky," Angel replied. Xander's expression went from worried to contempt as he hated anyone who talked down to him as though he was worthless. He looked Angel directly in his eyes before speaking.

"How can I make this anymore clear?" Xander asked, more to Angel, than himself. The next second, Angel found himself held up against the wall by his neck. Xander's aura had flared and was crackling more than usual as he wasn't feeling particularly friendly towards Angel. As Angel looked into the young man's eyes, he could see them glowing blue and he felt Xander's power coursing through his body, practically burning from the inside.

"Let's get something straight, Fang. I don't like you at all. At your core, you're just another goddamn vampire. One that I could easily take care of same way Jesse did Darla. But Buffy looks at you as if you're human. So you can either take us to her or Jesse and I make this really ugly for you," Xander demanded, with his grip tightening more than humanly possible. Angel merely nodded and Xander let go. The three made their way of the apartment and Angel led them to an underground tunnel.

Back at the library, everyone that remained had been thinking of where the hellmouth would open. They didn't have much to go on and they knew time was running out.

"Is there anywhere that the vampires have attacked the most?" Jenny asked.

"Well, the only place I've known that they've gone after was the...Bronze," Giles answered as he realized the implications of his answer.

"Oh no, the prom!" Willow followed up.

"We have to warn everyone there," Jonathan suggested.

"I'll go with you," Gabriel added.

"Be careful everyone," Giles said as Willow and Jenny followed Gabriel out of the school.

"How are we going to convince everyone that vampires are coming?" Willow asked before Gabriel sopped the two ladies.

"We may not have to worry about that. They're coming here," Gabriel answered as a small legion of vampires made their way to the school, heading for them.

"You two run back inside, I'll handle these guys and be right behind you," Gabriel said. He watched as Willow and Jenny run back through the double doors. He turned back to the demonic vampires and charged shadow energy into his body, before he exploded into a massive plume of smoke. The smoke looked as though it came alive as it formed the shape of a winged dragon. The dragon looked at the vampires below him and fired shadow energy from his mouth, decimating all the demonic vampires present. Gabriel shifted back to his normal form before running back to the library when a black car suddenly pulled up by him. The window rolled down revealing Cordelia Chase as the driver.

"Hey, I need to find Giles, is he in the library?" Cordelia asked, in a near panic.

"Yes! Come on! We should hurry!" Gabriel said, pulling the girl out of her car and towards the building. When they got inside, Gabriel ushered Cordelia into the library and charged more energy, this time into his hands. As a number of vampires came around the corner, he shot a wide energy beam that immediately dusted all the vampires present. Gabriel caught up to Cordelia in the library as she was telling the others what happened at the dance.

"I was just there with my friends when those...things attacked. What the hell is going on?! They looked just like those guys that attacked us at the Bronze after Buffy showed up. Was she in a gang and they think she's going to snitch?! Where is she anyway?!" Cordelia asked annoying everyone around her.

"Cordelia, shut up and help barricade the library!," Giles shouted as he and the others prepared for a big fight. As everyone locked all the doors leading into library, no one was aware of a lone tentacle making it's way up from the floor.

In the tunnels, Angel led Xander and Jesse to the Master's lair, as they weren't too far away from where the slayer and vampire would be. However, before they could make it all the way, they felt a rumble and ran the last stretch of the tunnel when they reached the lair. However, they each stopped as they saw a girl in a white dress and had blonde hair. They knew it had to be Buffy as they ran to her body, which was laying by a pool of water, with her head submerged, slightly. Angel held her up and checked her pulse and began shaking.

"She's not breathing," Angel said to the boys.

"Someone has to do CPR," Xander suggested.

"Well I don't breathe, so one of you has to do it," Angel said, as Jesse looked at Xander. Xander knelt down and breathed into Buffy's mouth and pulled back. He placed both hands above her heat and pressed down multiple times hoping she'd wake up. His wish came true as Buffy's eyes snapped open and she spat out water. She looked up and saw Xander holding her and then looked to Angel.

"Xander? Angel? Jesse?" Buffy said feeling confused.

"Welcome back, Slay-Gal," Xander said, happy to see her alive.

"Where's the Master?" Buffy asks feeling different.

"He's gone up. And it looks like the hellmouth might be open," Angel answered.

"Buffy, maybe you should rest," Xander suggested.

"No. I feel different. Stronger," Buffy said.

"Xander's right. We can't take another risk like that," Jesse said, as he was turned away from everyone.

"Jesse I can take-" Buffy didn't finish.

"You're not going to fight him and that's that! Angel, everyone is still in the library. Get her there. Xander, go with them," Jesse said as Buffy and Angel began to leave the tunnels.

"What are you going to do?" Xander asked his best friend. Jesse turned to him with his eyes glowing red.

"The Master in mine," Jesse said in a very deep voice. Xander backed away and decided not to question Jesse further, as he sensed the power coming off his friend. Jesse felt the Master's presence and decided to follow the trail, as his scent and aura were too strong not to notice. He made his way out of the tunnel.

Buffy, Xander, and Angel ran towards the library as the tunnel exit they found led them to a block away from the school. Xander stopped as he felt something powerful within the high school. It was eerily familiar as he had felt the presence two nights ago. He broke out into full speed towards the library, with Buffy and Angel trailing behind. Xander burst through the doors of the library when he saw it: a huge three-headed demon. The heads looked like giant worms with tentacles coming from their heads. The shrieks of the demon were enough to make anyone scared but Xander stood his ground. He grabbed a sword from Giles' weapon collection and charged light energy into the blade. He struck at one of the demon's heads and was rewarded with a howl of pain form the demon. However, he could feel how tough the demon was and knew it was going to be a long fight.

The Master stood on the rooftop of the high school, looking down through the skylight of the library. It watched as the hellmouth spawn fought with Xander. He was impressed with how long the boy had managed to stay on his feet fighting. He saw as the young man has surrounded the blade of the sword he was using with energy he hadn't seen in his years as a vampire. He knew that the boy wouldn't last forever. His senses went on high alert as he felt a dangerous presence in his midst. He turned around to find the boy's best friend, with eyes glowing red and his body surrounded by an aura of red energy with crackling arcs of said energy.

"So you're the other one who's caused trouble for my _children_. Here to take revenge for your little slayer friend?" the Master sneered as he smirked at the young man.

"There's no need for revenge. She's alive," Jesse said simply. The Master's smirk fell from his face as he heard the young man's words.

"Don't tell lies boy. They're not good for the soul," the Master said hoping he voice didn't betray his possible fear.

"I'm not lying. My friend, who's fighting off your guard god, he brought her back with CPR. And right now, they're probably killing your undead friends. And from the looks of things, my friend is doing serious damage to old Cerberus down there. That just leaves you and me. And what could we possibly do?" Jesse asked as he moved towards the age-old vampire. The Master got into a defensive stance and ducked as Jesse threw a punch.

The Master came back and threw a right hook, which Jesse blocked. The vampire followed with a high kick which caught Jesse in his face. The young man fell to the ground but caught himself and sprung back up on his feet. The Master tried for two punches with both hands. Jesse however, grabbed both his arms, jumped and landed a drop kick on the vampire's face. The Master fell and looked up to see the boy on his feet again. The vampire couldn't understand how a human could be this strong until he remembered Luke's description of the power Jesse and Xander used.

"What kind of power is that you're using? It's unlike anything I've ever seen," the Master asked Jesse, as the young man smiled.

"The energy I'm using, I'm not too sure. But the added power is shadow energy," Jesse replied. The Master's eyes widened at the mention of Shadow energy as had heard of one person who used it.

"I know what you're thinking. And in case you're wondering, Gabriel is down there helping my friend," Jesse said smirking. The Master looked through the skylight and saw the man that he had heard used Shadow magic. It had been almost a thousand years but he recognized the face of the one he had heard called himself 'Dracul'. He just couldn't believe it, the most powerful vampire even he had ever met and he was helping the slayer and her friends. He watched as Gabriel and Xander hacked away at the hellmouth spawn, with some success. The Master looked back at Jesse and lunged towards him. Jesse caught the vampire by his throat.

"It's over," Jesse declared as he flipped the Master over his should with one hand and through the skylight. The vampire fell through and landed on one of the broken tables. Unfortunately for the vampire, one half of the broken table had faced upward, with the broken end facing the sky. The Master was skewered when he landed on it. Immediate, his body began to disintegrate leaving the skeleton attached to the broken wooden furniture. The hellmouth spawn shrieked and fell back into the pit it rose from and all fell silent.

Everyone gathered in the library after everything was over. Everyone gather at the Master's bones, looking as though they just woke up from a dream.

"Is it...is it really over?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah it is," Xander replied in a calm yet tired voice.

"Buffy what happened to you?" Willow asked as she noticed the slayer looked drenched.

"I died. But someone brought me back," Buffy said smiling to Xander. He smiled back.

"Who killed the Master?" Giles asked.

"Ask mister Macho," Buffy joked as she looked at Jesse.

"That was...incredible," Cordelia said to the boy she had ignored, who had just now helped save their lives.

"Both of you," the queen of Sunnydale High said to Xander as well. She was absolutely shocked at seeing Xander take on the giant monster without much fear.

"Just doing what I had to," Xander replied. Cordelia smiled at him being modest.

"Hey. There's a dance that you guys can't miss. You all should go," Angel said gaining everyone's attention. Everyone nodded and made their way out of the library. Gabriel decided to head home and let everyone have time to enjoy themselves. Xander lagged behind a little bit as he thought on everything that happened so far. He had a feeling that closing the hellmouth was just the beginning of something greater. He moved towards the exit when he saw Jenny Calendar standing by the doors. He moved towards his teacher knowing she wanted to share words with him.

"You were great," Jenny said smiling at her student.

"I just did what I had to," Xander answered.

"Maybe. But you really stood up today. I'm proud of you for that," Jenny said as her smile remained. Xander looked down, trying to hide his face from turning red.

"Listen, we've got some time over the summer. If you want, I can tutor you and help you with your grades if you want. You're not a worthless. You've just never had anyone encourage you. And now I will. What do you say?" Jenny said, taking a hold of his hand in hers.

"I'd like that, Jenny," Xander replied smiling at her. The two let go of each other's hands and walked out of the library.

Higher Plane

The former members of the brotherhood stood with woman that loved Gabriel around the pool as they watched everything that happened. They were especially interested in the interaction between Xander and Jenny and wondered how this had come about.

"What do you suppose will happen next?" Cornell asked.

"Perhaps this was something that could've happened as a result of Sachiel and Gabriel putting the boys on their new paths," Carmilla answered.

"Perhaps this was something that needed to come about as a result, considering what happened to her in the other realm. While her soul did go to the higher realm, she could've been spared that fate. And the Xander in that world doesn't seem as bold as he was in this one or the other where acquires power," the second woman threw in.

"But why do you suppose there's been interference in this world and the other? Both Sachiel's have ad to step in to help change one outcome or prevent another, leading to major differences in each world apart from the one where the war is neutral," Carmilla asked.

Perhaps that is the reason why. The Creator has seen something that we have not in this realm. With Jesse's life spared in our world, as opposed to the others, it's a new door where he can contribute and maybe do just as much as the Xander in the other world," Cornell answered.

"So much speculation now is too much. We should continue to watch over everyone and make sure they are as safe as possible," the second woman said.

"Marie. You have a personal stake in this," Cornell reminded her.

"I know Cornell. But seeing everyone he has encountered, all I can do is pray for his salvation in the end," Marie said, thinking of her husband on earth. The three turned back to the pool and watched as Xander talked with Jenny at the Bronze, sharing laughs with each other.

Jenny had a cup of punch in her hand, as did Xander. She lifted her cup to him.

"A toast to the young man who helped save our lives. To the future...of the White Hats," Jenny said smiling to Xander. He smiled in kind to the computer teacher, raising his cup.

"To the future."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Don't own anything related to the Buffyverse or Castlevania, whether be the original timeline or the Lords of Shadow universe.

Author's note: So I imagine many of you are curious about why the timeline is going so fast, and why for Xander and Jesse, they're so strong and why Gabriel is even in this story. First off, for a television series with some form of story, even if it seems like a number of plot bunnies season after season, there is some concise story but at times, the show needs a random distraction, even if only to build or touch upon certain elements, or situations the characters face, such as in Supernatural. But for a fanfiction, like this one, it helps to cover the main points of the seasons as I go along with the story, otherwise, it becomes tedious with details that aren't necessarily needed. As far as Jesse and Xander's strength, with their abilities, vampires, werwolves, and many of the half-breed demons are practically on the lowest scale in terms of power. And truth be told, the super strength of a slayer isn't as great as fans have seen or as the show portrays, because if Buffy ever faced an Old One, she'd die. Gabriel's role becomes much bigger as the story continues. EVeryone who knows the Lords of Shadow story are probably going 'Why isn't doing anything?!'. He trains the boys and still fights as he's hoping to be free from the curse of immortality. So keep reading.

Sunnydale, California

Late Summer, 1999

The six teenagers Scooby Gang walked along the sidewalk that bordered one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries enjoying the night. It was rare that any of them were able to because, amazingly, there haven't been any vampires since Xander fought the Hellmouth Spawn, and Jesse defeated the Master. Most of them were still amazed at what the two had accomplished but the two young men had told them that they were fighting for them. Since then, things had changed to a great degree for the life long friends. Willow began spending as much time with Jesse as she would Xander, making both of them very happy. Before the summer, Cordelia had declared that she would no longer make fun of them as she had seen the ugly side of the town, and realized that at the end of it all, she'd rather be alive, especially since she was with the others being attacked. They had not seen her for about a week as her family had gone out of town.

The group continued walking down the sidewalk when a vampire jumped out in front of them. Xander immediately shot a blast of blue energy at it and it was instantly dusted. The group continued on as if there was nothing to really fear.

"You know, I'm kinda jealous you guys can do that so easily now. I mean what am I? Chopped liver?" Buffy joked at her two friends. This got odd looks from Xander and Jesse.

"Of course not, Buff. We all do what we can to make sure everything runs smoothly. Or as smoothly as things can go in Sunnydale. Besides, we'll need everyone probably now, with that vamp showing up," Jesse replied to the shorter blonde.

"He's got a point. That's the first vampire we've seen all summer. The timing is just too convenient," Amy stated to everyone.

"You're right. It might be on account of us taking down the Master and then burying the bones. We should tell Giles when the semester starts," Jonathan said, as he thought over the situation.

Sunnydale High School

Everyone was coming together as the new school year was starting. The teenagers had met up at the quad and entered the building. They immediately noticed Giles and Ms. Calendar talking. Xander couldn't help but overhear about Jenny mention naked mud dancing, causing the older Englishman to sputter out his next words.

"Hey guys!" Willow said approaching the pair.

"Ms. C! G-man! What's going on?" Xander asked excitedly. Jenny smiled fondly at the young man while Giles looked slightly agitated.

"Hello all. DON'T call me that," Giles said, directing the comment towards Xander.

"So how was your summer?" Jenny asked, even though her gaze was directed mostly at Xander.

"Eh, the usual. Movies. Bronze. Oh and...there was a vampire last night," Xander whispered the last part, so no one would here.

"Good lord. I thought they'd all gone after the Master's demise," GIles said, wondering about the presence of the vampire.

"Well, we got rid of the big bad, so maybe the bad guys are trying to fill a power vacuum," Jesse explained, earning odd glances from the group bar Xander.

"It's a common thing in comic books and tv shows. You get rid of the big bad that's been trying to take over, there's a chance that something else just as bad will try and fill that hole left. We shouldn't be surprised considering what happened this year alone," Xander explained. The rest of the group thought this over and could only agree as nothing had happened since the Master's death until the previous night.

"Well, I think I'll research anything that's likely to come up. I'll be in the library," Giles said.

"Ah! Eight minutes, thirty-eight seconds. Pay up Jon!" Jesse declared. Giles looked at the young men.

"Jesse and I made a bet that you wouldn't go ten minutes without going off to research something. I lost," Jonathan shrugged. Giles shook his head muttering 'teenagers' heading towards the library. The rest of the group split up, leaving only Jenny and Xander to walk to wherever hey were headed.

"So you really enjoyed your time off from school?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah. Gave me a lot of time to really think about everything. And now I feel better about myself. And maybe life won't be so bad after all," Xander answered. Jenny had been tutoring him over the summer as she had noticed that his grades were particularly lacking, especially since Jesse was doing so well. She often wondered how Xander could be so content until she remembered the look on his face whenever he was alone. Halfway through the break, she had bombarded him with questions until he finally broke down and confessed everything he had been feeling. He told her about how even though he had Willow and Jesse, they couldn't necessarily do much. He went on about how his father was an abusive drunk and his mother using alcohol to drown out her own fears and disregarded the pain Xander experienced.

She had asked why he just couldn't get help, seeing as he wouldn't fight back against his father. He explained that many of the adults didn't really care about what happened as long as they didn't have to deal with it. His father had been arrested many times for domestic disturbances and violence but his mother always bailed him out of any trouble. Jenny remembered holding him, with her arms wrapped around him in a loving embraced, as he cried on her shoulder. She was brought to the present as she finished her thoughts on Xander's breakdown.

"It shouldn't have been so bad to begin with. At this point, if it comes to it, you may have to fight back if your mother won't do anything. People who are abused for so long don't exactly trust others after so long. The fact that you could stand it for as long as you did shows you're not weak. Perhaps you getting these powers was the best things to happen to you. I can't imagine what it would be like if you didn't have anything to help you break through that barrier," Jenny said, not knowing how right she was in making that statement.

Heavens

Marie, Carmilla, and Cornell looked down at the viewing pool, paying close attention to the interactions between Jenny and Xander. They had realized that Xander in this reality had changed drastically. They thought about the world where the dimensional discrepancies had originated and realized that Sachiel's interference in this dimension had made the change for the better. The Xander in the other reality was never able to realize his potential as the Powers in that realm seemed indifferent towards his well-being and only focused on those they could control. They figured that maybe one of the Powers wanted to manipulate the group in that world so that they could reshape everything as they saw fit. It didn't surprise them as when they reached the higher plane, everything was explained and they could not interfere unless absolutely necessary. However, they had seen that the Powers in the other dimension did not follow this law and realized sooner or later, their actions would catch up to them.

"So there's much more hope for him now than before. I must admit, I was almost worried that Sachiel's interference would've made everything worse," Cornell said.

"Well, the young men have always had potential to do great good. But in the other world, they were manipulated to be where they are in the other world. The McNally boy has been in that world's higher realm since his corpse was freed from the vampire that took over. Meanwhile the Harris boy continues the hide behind his humor while still fighting before living a semi-peaceful existence with the younger Summers' girl. He could've done much more just as the first realm where the discrepancies had taken affect as they have here," Carmilla added.

"It's quite amazing how far the group had come into the first affected realm. IF they continue to work the way they have, then perhaps that world can be saved for the one true apocalypse. Still, I can't help but wonder why the progenitor realm did not receive any assistance?" Marie asked the former members of the brotherhood.

"There's always the possibility that it was doomed from the start as the Powers had interfered to a point where assistance would only take away from what everyone there has fought for already. Which reminds me, we need to prevent Barbas from gaining a foothold onto our world as he almost did in the other. His apocalypse would cost the lives of billions of humans. The true apocalypse is meant to separate the righteous from the wicked, so that the righteous will find peace and everlasting life. But with everything we've seen, the Powers and likely the Elders would not tolerate interference from us even if we are over them. If they step out of line, they will be dealt with," Cornell said as they looked back to the viewing pool.

The Bronze

The group, bar Buffy, sat at the usual table, surprisingly along with Cordelia who told her friends that they shouldn't go to the Bronze as she was the one who led them and they followed her like lost sheep. Everyone listened as the band Cibo Matto performed a rather fast paced song. Xander looked around, wondering when Buffy would should up and tried to look nonchalant about it. Willow and Cordelia could tell that he was so into Buffy that he practically wanted to burst from it.

"Think she'll show?" Xander asked looking around some more.

"She said she'd be here," Willow replied. They continued relaxing, listening to the band play, when about ten minutes later, Buffy entered with a burgundy colored dress that reached down to about mid-thigh length. As she strolled in, Cibo Matto played another song that was slower in pace but everyone was dancing to. Angel saw her and approached, while Buffy turned away and slightly sneered and cursed.

"Hi," Angel said.

"Hey," Buffy replied lamely, not really interested.

"Are you alright?" the ensouled vampire asked.

"Yeah. Why? Some big bad evil I should know about?" Buffy replied sarcastically.

"Well, I can't help feeling like I've done something wrong? Are you afraid of me? Us?" Angel asked.

"Aren't you so sure? There's no us, Angel. I get that what we had was great and there were feelings but now...I've moved on...to the living," Buffy said harshly, while walking away. Cordelia took notice of the behavior and looked at Buffy. Unknown to any of the group, Gabriel walked in and stopped when he saw Buffy approach the other teens.

"Hey," Buffy said cheerfully.

"Hi," Willow said somewhat timidly.

"Hey! Hi. Wanna sit?" Xander asked, as he sprung out of his seat with joy at Buffy's presence.

"No thanks," Buffy responded sultrily to Xander.

"Hey. What's up with Angel?" Willow asked.

"Beats me. Let's dance," Buffy said pulling Xander to the floor.

"I could go for a dance. How bout it Amy?" Jonathan asked the darker blonde.

"Sure," Amy replied happily.

"What do you say, Wills?" Jesse asked his interest. Willow smiled and took Jesse's hand and walk to the floor.

The band kept singing as the Scoobies walked onto the floor. As most of the pairs of teenagers danced face-to-face, Buffy had spooned herself against Xander, while sensually dancing on him. Xander was shocked to have Buffy be doing this for him. However, he was unaware of Buffy's real intentions as well as the fact that Gabriel was watching them from a distance. Buffy continued grinding against Xander while he tried not to let the excitement get to him. He was pretty sure that she could certainly feel was was going on in the area she was grinding on but seemed not to care about the fact. Those who were on the floor kept looking at Xander and Buffy and immediately noticed something was wrong with the way Buffy had looked while dancing. Cordelia looked on in disgust while Angel looked in barely contained jealousy. As the song was reaching it's last verse, Buffy turned back to look Xander in the eye.

"Xander...did I ever thank you? For saving me?" Buffy asked in a still sultry tone. Xander looked her in the eye, and noticed something strange but couldn't quite place it.

"Um, no. But it's alright. We're friends. I'd be there for you for anything," Xander said sincerely.

"Still...don't you wish I would," Buffy said as she whispered in his ear before she walked away. Xander tried his best not to let his head hang low. However, the feeling of anger, rejection, and shame was too great. Xander headed for the rear exit and made a break for home. Jesse noticed and wanted to go after his friend until he saw Cordelia pursue him.

"You alright Jesse?" Willow asked, even though she saw the same thing he did.

"Yeah Will. I'm cool," Jesse smiled at the redhead. Willow could tell that Jesse was worried for his brother in all but blood but realized maybe he could use some time to think. However, Willow was also curious about Buffy's behavior. She looked to Jonathan and Amy and noticed they seemed to be thinking the same thing. Willow decided to take the initiative and talk with Angel.

"I'll be right back," she said to her friend before she walked off. She went over to Angel before he could make a move to leave.

"Hey. You okay?" Willow asked the vampire.

"Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" Angel replied. Willow's face had taken a new new expression as her eyebrows furled some and her eyes gazed hard into his. Angel, while normally not affected by many looks, had to admit to himself that the look was actually freaking him out.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Stop," Angel said almost backing away uncomfortably.

"This is my resolve face. You can either tell me now, or you see this face every time I'm around. Now talk!" Willow demanded, making Angel actually flinch.

"Alright. I don't know what her problem is but she just chewed me out like I did something. I have an idea why but I'd rather not deal with it when she would probably stake me," Angel replied.

"And what about Xander?" Willow asked.

"Uh...well. Honestly...okay. Seeing her dance with him like that, made me jealous," Angel said.

"You do realize she just used my best friend of fifteen years to make you jealous right?" Willow asked in response. Angel glanced down at the floor in a bit of shame as he realized that Buffy's plan had worked, even if he could see through it himself. He actually felt bad, more for Xander than himself.

"You're right. Xander's not exactly my favorite person. But he was the one who brought her back and then fought that thing that rose from hellmouth. Meanwhile I just sat back and did nothing while he and Jesse threatened to kill me if I didn't take them to the Master's lair," Angel confessed. He had hoped he wouldn't have to voice those concerns but he realized that nothing has been easy for him for a long time.

"Well, you're not the only one. Most of us just did the same thing. When they found out, they were so worried but they left to do something anyway. I can't imagine what would've happened if they weren't here," Willow said. Angel nodded his head in agreement.

Outside of the Bronze, Cordelia had caught up to Xander. She was surprised by his before she remembered his powers. She stopped just in front of him and stood her ground knowing he wouldn't want to push her aside.

"Xander, talk to me," the cheerleader said.

"Cordelia, I'm really not in the mood," Xander replied and tried to step around, only for her to block his way.

"I'm not moving until you open Xander. I saw what Buffy did. And right now, she is my least favorite person now more than ever," Cordelia said. Xander sensed the anger but also the sincerity.

"She's right Xander. It won't do you much good if you don't open up to someone. Besides, the vampires hiding in the dark corner will only interrupt you," Gabriel said as he pointed at the corner he mentioned. Two vampires, male and female came out and lunged at Cordelia only to immediately turn to dust. When the ashes cleared, they saw Gabriel with medium length sword in his right hand, that that a blue aura surrounded it. As Xander looked at the blade, he felt a similar aura to his own.

"Don't worry. I'll find any other vampires and deal with them. You two do whatever you were going to do," Gabriel said before vanishing in a puff of smoke with red tendrils of energy.

"How the hell did he do that?" Cordelia asked Xander.

"He's a vampire," Xander answered cooly.

"WHAT?!" Cordelia shouted, making Xander rub his right ear.

"He's not a regular vampire. He's like Angel, except he drank a powerful vampire's blood while he was still alive. So he's one of us. Let's get out of here before we get anymore surprises," Xander said moving towards the direction of his home. Cordelia followed behind him and directed them to her car.

When they arrived, Xander warned Cordelia about his father so that she would not feel as bad should anything go wrong. Xander quietly opened the front door, with Cordelia following. The two teens tip-toed up to Xander's room. When they both entered, Xander quietly closed the door, before he moved to his bed and collapsed on it. Cordelia simply moved to the bed and sat down next to him.

"Feel like talking now?" Cordelia asked softly. Xander looked up at her in slight disbelief that she was actually being gentle in her approach.

"I just don't understand why she would treat me that, even knowing how I feel," Xander said, as he turned over on his back.

"Well, I can tell you it's because she's scared. I heard her talking and Angel, and she was pretty harsh to the guy that's basically her boyfriend. But then after what you guys told me, about how you, Angel, and Jesse found her, well my sympathy only goes so deep," Cordelia explained. Xander laughed a bit at the las part of Cordelia's statement. But then he thought about what Cordelia said. He remembered that after the dance, Buffy had acted sort of strangely for a time. She had been somewhat short and snippy at times whenever the subject of vampires was brought up. He told Jenny about it and she explained post-traumatic stress disorder to him. He and the gang tried everything to take her mind off the trauma but it didn't work.

"I guess you're right. No point in trying to do much else about it. Buffy has to face her fear at one point. Although, I'd rather the Master not come back. Still, it would help if I could do something," Xander said.

"Right now, even though you've given her as much as possible, time would help. Because eventually she'll have to whether she wants to or not. And you...you just keep being you Xander Harris. And no matter what happens from here, you can count on me to watch your back," Cordelia said, smiling at her former enemy.

"Thanks Cordy. Well, I should probably walk you to your car," Xander said as he began to get up.

"Actually, you don't have to. My folks are away on some business trip. And the maid won't say anything to Daddy as long as I give her an extra tip every now and then," the Queen of Sunnydale High responded as she smiled smugly. Xander couldn't help but genuinely laugh at the thought. He realized there was more to Cordelia than he and Willow had originally known, and he was okay with it.

"Well, as much as I'd enjoy the company. I'm not sure my folks will be too keen on you being here when they find out. Then again, they'd be too out of it to really notice," Xander said with a grimace. Cordy realized that all of her comments and the rumors about Xander's family, while not entirely known, were more true than she realized. She put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. Not just for your parents. But for everything I've ever said to you," she gently spoke to him.

"It's fine. Or it will be down the road," Xander replied.

"Well, I suppose we should get some sleep. You'll want to be out of here early int he morning. You can take my bed. I'll sleep on the floor. What?" Xander asked as he adjusted the alarm on his clock. Cordelia was looking up at him smiling in a way he wasn't used to, although he had seen that look before.

"Xander Harris is being quite the gentleman. But it's not necessary for tonight," Cordelia said in a sultry voice, making Xander move his mouth but without words being said.

"What? You've never shared a bed with a girl? I'm sure you and Willow did this a lot," Cordelia said, snickering.

"We were five," Xander replied.

"Don't worry. I'll keep my hands to myself. But you have to keep the same promise, mister," Cordelia said as a mock threat, smiling as she noted Xander's reaction.

"Uh...okay. I'll just uh...yeah," Xander said as he turned around to give her some privacy. She did the same but turned back some to get a good look. She had noticed how well sculpted his muscles appeared as he took his shirt off. Needless to say, Xander Harris could give the studs at school a run for their money. She turned back around trying her best to fight off the forming blush.

"Okay, I'm done," Cordelia said as she covered herself most of herself as Xander turned around, wearing a wife-beater and boxers. Xander himself had a hard time trying to keep his blood flow from going south. He had known Cordelia to have shapely legs and a wonderful figure. But seeing her upper body, especially her chest in a bra that really brought out the shape, almost made him drool. Xander darted his eyes any and everywhere to avoid Cordelia's. She saw his reaction and could tell just what he was thinking and smirked. Xander got under the covers with her but stayed as far away as he could, which wasn't much as he had a king-sized bed.

"So. There's a half-naked girl laying in bed with you. What are you going to do now?" Cordelia said, messing with Xander. The young man swallowed a big lump that formed in his throat as a number of responses, and images, came to mind.

"Would you think any less of me if I pretended to fall out of bed and stay there at some point in the night?" Xander asked trying not to think so much about what his body wanted. Cordelia began laughing, not haughtily or conceitedly, but a genuine, joyful laugh.

"It's okay Xander. I won't do anything you would want to but won't. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a pack-mule, even if it is locker-room talk," Cordelia replied. Xander's eyes widened at the statement as he had heard the rumors as well but stopped thinking much about them since the battle with the Master. '_I should just let this go now,_' he thought to himself.

"I know you aren't. And thanks. Not just for the talk. But for showing me the other side of you," Xander said.

"You're welcome," Cordelia replied. With that in mind, the two teens fell asleep, with Xander dreaming of unusual circumstances that were coming his way. He let the dreams come, as he realized there may be something that needed to be done soon.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Don't own either one.

Author's note: Okay. I won't lie. I'm half-expecting a lot of you reading this to start ranting about Buffy. Mainly the fact that it would seem like bashing to some of you. This isn't necessarily bashing. I'd prefer not to bash unless I see reason to. But I will address something that bugs me. Bashing characters isn't something that fans should like to do, because it shows that readers and writers on this site don't have lives. It's one thing to expand upon flaws of a character. But it's another thing to outright mischaracterize them and call it real when it's not. That being said, I'd like to address Xander's character being bashed. I've read at least a few of the stories and I was horribly shocked and infuriated. I am a Xander fan, but I do look at characters objectively. And those Xander-bashing stories were downright horrible because he was so mischaracterized, that it seems like the only reason he was bashed on was because there was nothing about him to bash, and believe or not, he has been the voice of reason but was ignored because he was 'normal'. And honestly, with the way the show went, to the end of season 7, everyone sees he's not the guy in those stories that bash him. I thought I'd say this to let fans know that people do notice as they have in the fan-fiction community as well as the video-game community and this kind of misrepresentation only makes everyone look bad. Just thought I'd let everyone know that. My point is, I will point out a character's flaws as I see necessary but I won't bash them. Now then, on with the story.

The Next Morning...

Xander woke up to an interesting feeling. His eyes opened as his alarm clock went up indicating that he needed to get up and escort Cordelia out of the house. However, before he moved to get up, he felt a weight on his body. As he looked down at his chest, he noticed an arm draped over him. The memories of the previous night flashed back to him. Before he could stop himself, the anger and hurt came rushing back as Buffy 'danced' with him to make Angel jealous. He didn't expect a 'thank you' for bringing her back. But the fact that she had treated him that way only made him feel worse. He already felt that about Willow's feelings since he felt he wouldn't good enough for her. But last night had been the final nail in the coffin for him.

However, those memories were followed by something that was still unexpected for him. He thought back to when Cordelia caught with him and brought him home. In their lifetime as enemies from different classes, they had not only gotten along, she had comforted him and been friendly towards him. He figured at first it was because he had saved her before the summer. But he saw the sincerity in her eyes and he knew for sure that there was more to her than she let others see. He found it even funnier as he thought back on her teasing him before they slept. He felt the head cheerleader shift next to him.

"Mmmmm. Good morning," she said, smiling to him.

"Good morning to you too. Uhhh..." Xander trailed off as he looked at their intimate position.

"What this? It's nothing. It could be worse," Cordelia replied, smirking at her former enemy.

"Well, that is true. I could've wound up in bed with Ms. French in her mantis form," Xander said thinking back on how they found Jonathan.

"So that was her?! Man, you guys just keep getting into some weird stuff. That I seem to get dragged into. Weird. Oh well. Guess I should get dressed," Cordelia said, getting off the bed. Xander went out of the room to check on his parents. A few minutes later, he returned with a confused expression on his face.

"What's wrong?" Cordelia said, noticing his expression.

"My folks aren't here. And I just found this note that said they were just going out for the day. I guess my dad went looking for another job. Maybe mom is helping him. Oh well," he said, tossing the note aside.

"Xander...can you tell you about your home-life?" Cordelia asked. Xander looked back at her to tell her he'd rather not. But he could see that she was genuinely curious about him. He sat back down on his bed and she followed. Xander explained about his father's abuse whenever he was inebriated. That was what led to the first instance. Xander had never told anyone until Jesse had practically cornered him about it when they were freshmen in high school. As far as anyone else knew, including Willow, he was just clumsy. Cordelia looked at him as though her whole world were shattered and a few tears escaped her eyes. She wrapped Xander in a loving hug that he didn't think she was capable of.

"I'm so sorry," Cordelia said as she cried for the young man.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about," Xander responded, not even sounding too convinced of his own words.

"Xander, you have to promise me you'll get out of here at some point!" Cordelia demanded of him.

"Hmph. You're the second person to say that to me," Xander said without thinking.

"Who was the first?" Cordelia asked in return. Xander immediately looked away as he realized his mistake.

"I wasn't going to say anything but...it was Ms. Calendar. We've sort of...gotten closer," Xander said, hoping his statement wasn't so loaded.

"What about Giles? I thought they would be all...I don't know romantic. But then again, maybe not. Ew!" Cordelia said as she thought about the subject. Xander could only laugh at her.

"Well, guess we should get ready," Xander said as he got off his bed and went to his closet. Cordelia got dressed and waited for Xander. The pair walked downstairs and out to her car, which thankfully wasn't towed, although Xander knew he'd have some explaining to do later.

Sunnydale High School

Cordelia pulled into the parking, which for Xander was amazing considering she had some close calls on the road to the school. As they got out, they immediately noticed that everyone was staring at them as if they both had grown second heads. For Cordelia, it didn't matter what anyone thought since she was the most popular student, as was more of an independent thinker than her friends. Xander, however, was a different story as he felt like everyone was judging him more than Cordelia, and he was right. Everyone had thought Xander to be one of the high school losers, and Cordelia being seen with him was unheard of. As the pair made it to the quad, they were approached by Buffy, Willow and Jesse.

"Xander! What's going...why are you with Cordelia?!" Willow had asked, seeing one of her best friends with the girl she hated. She and Xander had formed the 'We Hate Cordelia Club' with Xander when they were children. Seeing him with her was disconcerting as she couldn't understand what was happening. Xander was about to answer when Cordelia cut him off.

"It's none of your business Rosenburg," Cordelia replied harshly.

"Since when do you care about Xander?" Buffy asked, as her own curiosity came forth.

"Since you lap danced him to make your vampire boyfriend jealous, bitch," Cordelia replied, taking Xander's hand and leading him away. Buffy looked shocked as the night was coming back to bite her. Willow stood with Buffy and laid a hand on her arm.

Cordelia led Xander to Ms. Calendar's classroom so that maybe Xander could have someone else to talk to as she felt too angry t think straight. When they approached the classroom, they noticed Jenny sitting at her desk sporting a small bandage on her head.

"What happened to you?" Xander asked.

"Some vampires jumped me last night. Luckily, Gabriel showed up and took out their whole group," Jenny said almost nonchalantly.

"A whole group?! That's impressive for a vampire," Cordelia said, not thinking.

"Yeah. But he isn't any ordinary vampire. The man really knows his shadow magics," Jenny replied.

"Shadow magics?" Xander asked despite himself.

"Yes. When Gabriel was human, the group was formerly affiliated with used the most basics of magics: Light and Shadow magic. Light used for protection and healing. Shadow used for aggression and strength. Even to this day, those magics are still very powerful, considering that they are the basic foundations for the white and black magics we know today. He's been around for over a thousand years, so he could probably do more if he really wanted to," Jenny explained.

"But why did those vampires jump you?" Xander asked, concerned for his friend.

"They dug up the Master's bones last night. There was a ritual that they were trying to perform to bring the Master back. They had the bones but needed me, Willow, Giles, and you Cordelia, to bring him back. Luckily for me, Gabriel showed up and kicked all their asses. Although I've never seen someone with so much distaste for vampires. Well, except you Xander," Jenny finished explaining.

"Well, at least he's good for something. I can't imagine if what would've happened if he wasn't here. Speaking of last night, we've got something to talk about," Cordelia explained. The cheerleader began explaining about the previous night at the Bronze and how vampires were there and Gabriel had taken them out. Needless to say, Jenny was surprised. Not at the vampires, however.

"Good lord," Jenny said.

"You've been hanging around G-Man too much," Xander said, smiling.

"Don't joke about that. And what will you do about Buffy?" Jenny asked.

"Nothing. I' don't really care right now," Xander responded.

'Xander, this is your self-respect we're talking about. Do you really want to be treated like a lapdog that she can just call and dismiss on a whim? You're much stronger than her and you've brought her back form the dead, and she treats you like an old rag?! No Xander. I won't let her do that to you," Jenny said. Since finding out about his father's abuse towards him, she vowed that he would not continue to see himself as worthless, if she could do anything about it.

"Thanks. Well, I guess I better check in with Giles later," Xander said, hoping to put the matter to rest for the time being. The school day was halfway over when the bell rang for lunch for Xander and Cordelia. Jenny had a free period during lunch and decided to accompany the teenagers to the library. Upon their entrance, they noticed that the watcher was in a bit of heated discussion, mainly with Buffy.

"So this whole time, you knew about something that could bring the Master back?!" Buffy shouted with the attitude she had been showing.

"Buffy. N-no revivification ritual has been successful. We wouldn't have had any idea either way if they could work," Giles tried to respond calmly.

"But you've heard of th-" Buffy was cut off from her rant.

"Maybe you should focus more on the issues at hand and not try to push away the people who've helped you," Jenny said irately.

"You know what, I've had enough from the civilians for one day," Buffy replied harshly, causing Jesse to stand up.

"That's enough from you, Buffy! This isn't even about you or how the hell you feel right now! We've got vampires trying to bring back that asshole and we need to figure out how to keep our last battle with him from happening again, dammit!" Jesse shouted. Everyone stopped, with half of the occupants impressed and the rest frightened. Everyone had noticed that Buffy had gone silent.

"At any rate, the vampires are gone," Jenny added in.

"What?!" Giles asked hoping it wasn't a joke.

"Some vamps got me until Gabriel showed up and wiped them out. He likely snatched the bones as well," Jenny explained. This earned mixed reactions from the group.

"I...I guess I owe you and apology," Buffy said to Giles.

"He's not the only one," Cordelia cut in, having been silent. Buffy looked at her, then at Xander. She noticed that he was looking away, which confused her until the previous night dawned on her. Buffy wasn't sure how she could approach the situation.

"I...Xander, I didn't mean...I gotta go," Buffy said, rushing out of library as fast as she could. Cordelia moved to follow, but stopped as Xander grabbed her arm.

"I'm sorry about last night Xan," Jesse said to his 'brother'.

"It's not your your fault man," Xander replied.

"If it helps, I tried talking to her. Didn't go as well as I'd hoped though," Jesse said, thinking back to earlier in the morning. He had tried talking to Buffy about the way she treated Xander at the Bronze. He had tried to impress upon her how much she had basically degraded Xander's self-respect without letting on about his friend's abuse. Buffy however, simply thought Xander would get over it since he was in love with her. Jesse could only wonder about whether his friend would continue pursuing the slayer further.

"She must learn to move past her fears. Or as you American teenagers may say, she must...'get over it'," came Gabriel's voice, as he entered the library with his smoky teleportation method.

"I understand but how can she do so now?" Giles asked the vampire.

"All of you meet me at the Crawford Street Mansion, tonight. I know of a ritual that will help her, and you Xander," Gabriel replied.

"What about me?" Jesse asked.

"You have already faced your fears, when you had fought against the Master. Buffy merely needs to face him. But for Xander, it goes much deeper," Gabriel said. Jesse, Jenny, and Cordelia looked on understanding while Giles and Willow looked on confused.

Crawford Street Mansion

The Scooby gang had assembled in the living area of the mansion, which was quite impressive, with it's size. Some of the group found it odd that Dracul would live as lavishly as he was now, since it fit the stereotype of Dracula's novel from the popular novel. No one dared voice that opinion. Everyone gather around a large pentagram that was underneath a rug that Gabriel removed. The teenagers looked up to the older man.

"Xander and Buffy will need to sit in the center of the pentagram with their backs to each other," Gabriel said, as said teenagers did as they were told. Gabriel, took a brown bag and reached his hand in. As he brought his hand out, he released a red powder from his hands that covered the two teenagers. Buffy and Xander closed their eyes. WHat happened next, neither teen was prepared for. Buffy found herself on the roof, next to the skylight with the Master in front of her.

"Come to die, Slayer?" the Master sneered. Buffy fidgeted for a second as he came closer. Then she threw a punch.

Xander found himself in the school library, traumatized by the sight before him. Everyone was dead, and he saw himself with a vampiric visage, feeding on Willow. His double looked at him and smiled wickedly, as he removed his fangs from Willow's neck.

"Well isn't a good old blast from the past. Let me guess, you're here to free me of my torment? Literally put me out of my misery? Well let me tell you something: I LIKE BEING A FUCKING VAMPIRE!" the vampire double shouted.

"NO! We're better than this!" Xander countered.

"If we're so much better, then how come now one ever even noticed when we did anything right? Especially that bitch, Buffy! You know what they all are? They were just fucking jerks. I saved Buffy's life, but she doesn't even so much as care about anything I say or do, as long as she gets her way. I mean for god's sake, Angel lost his soul, and I had to be the voice of reason because Red was so caught up in their romance, and that spineless Brit wouldn't even as so much back me up, even after Angel killed Jenny. Sonovabitch tried to take him on himself. And that's when the bitch finally woke up. But of course, Willow finds the curse to give him and soul. And little Miss Perfect thinks she can control magic? How fucking self-centered do you have to be to put people's lines on the lives like that?!" the double sneered as the memories seemed to cause him more pain than anything else.

"Why are you telling me this?" Xander asked his dark reflection.

"Because you need to wake up and keep off the sidelines like you did the night the Master rose. Or else, something much worse than this will happen. So, either kill me now, or you don't make it out," the vampire Xander exclaimed as he approached the real Xander. Xander simply closed his eyes, as if waiting for his end, when he felt his double close in on him. However, before the vampire could react, Xander held out his hand and grabbed the vampire by his his collar. Xander looked into the eyes of his double and knew right then, that he could never and would never become the thing standing in front of him. Xander charged his energy and let it run through the vampire's body, before the corpse turned to ash. Xander looked at the remains, coming to terms with what he had feared becoming. It wasn't just the thought of becoming a vampire that frightened him. But what Jenny had said earlier had plagued him, more than he knew. She was right that he couldn't let Buffy or anyone else lower his self-respect, then. Xander closed his eyes as a light engulfed him. As he woke up, he noticed his head was in someone's lap. As he looked up, he saw Jenny nursing his head, as if it were fragile.

"Welcome back," she said smiling.

"What about Buffy?" Xander asked.

"She's still dealing," Jenny replied as she looked over at Buffy's form on the floor.

"You can go home Xander. You've seen all you needed to," Gabriel said.

"I'll drive you and Cordelia home," Jenny said. The three left the mansion with Cordelia walking ahead of Jenny and Xander. Something still bugged the young man.

"Jenny, how do you know so much about what we know?" Xander asked. He never had the chance with so much on his mind.

"I'm descended from a clan on Romany people, or gypsies as you know them. My family goes as back as when the brother that Gabriel had fought for was still in existence. In fact, my ancestor was apart of the order. But after Gabriel took out most of their military power, they disbanded. Since then, the knowledge has been passed down through my family. They had developed other kinds of spells that had branched from light and shadow magic, making the spells their own. And it wasn't until two hundred years ago, when Angelus attacked one of the tribes most cherished daughters, that my family created one of the most darkest of spells in existence," Jenny explained.

"And what spell was that?" Xander asked despite himself.

"It was to give Angel his soul back. The point was for him to suffer for the crimes he had committed. But lately, it seems that hasn't been so much of the case," Jenny added further.

"Why do you suppose that is?" Xander asked.

"It seems he is suffering but not in the way my family originally believed. Vampires were always believed to be the same person before and after death," Jenny started.

"Except that it's a demon inhabiting the body, and not the person's soul," Xander followed.

"Right. Since I met Gabriel I realized something. He has the demonic powers of the vampires he fought in his day. But he never lost his soul and feels remorse. If he were truly a demon, why wouldn't he have simply conquered the world, especially with as much power as he commands?" Kenny asked rhetorically.

"I think I get what you're saying. By putting Angel's soul back, it may have been a mistake. Because Angel's soul is suffering but it's possible the demon may not be. Which means if the curse was broken, the demon would be the same," Xander surmised.

"Exactly. That's actually why I am here. I was sent here to make sure Angel's curse remained intact. The problem is I don't know what to look for, since no one told me how the curse could be broken," Jenny fumed. Xander looked at her and knew she was telling the truth.

"How could they be so careless? That's like playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey with innocent lives!" Xander shouted.

"Who knows what those old fools are thinking. I just know I can't do this alone. Can you help me?" Jenny asked her friend.

"Of course. But I at least have to tell Jesse so we can better our chances," Xander requested.

"Of course. But he can't tell anyone until it's best that they all know," Jenny impressed upon Xander. Xander nodded as the approached Cordelia, who stood next to the car. They looked to each other and figured she may as well know so that she wouldn't be surprised either. As everyone got in, they thought about the changes that would be in store. Sachiel stood on the roof of the mansion watching the trio depart.

"Hope you and your friends can handle this kid."


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: Don't own either series.

Author's note: So last chapter, the chapter ended on a rather interesting note. I imagine most everyone reading is thinking about Xander's vision quest. It had him facing his greatest fear since meeting Buffy which was becoming a vampire. His original fear was turning out like his drunken abusive father, which Joss Whedon had hinted at but never had Xander make known to ANYONE. My guess is since become a member of the Scoobies, he figured survival was more important than his own personal issues, until they became a problem during downtime. And even then he's at least tried to work out his issues. But Whedon never bothered to develop this the way he did with at least everyone else, which makes me wonder whether he hated Xander's character to screw him over that much or if he just hates his gender altogether, in which case I say, speaking as a man myself, 'why?'. Anyway, the point is, Xander needed to have been done better considering he wasn't exactly a lapdog to Buffy, which is why I am writing this story, as well as Hand of Fate, to show that Xander and others are capable. Rant is done. Here's the story.

Mid November, 1997

Sunnydale

The weeks following Xander and Buffy's vision quest had been of the strange and unusual despite the Scoobies' dealings with demons. The group had dealt with odd things such as a late classmate being resurrected in the style of the Frankenstein novel. The next was the appearance of a new vampire who Angel was familiar with, known as William the Bloody or Spike. He had shown himself at parent/teacher night but was easily rebuffed y the Scoobies but was also one who was smart enough to run away. Next came the cultural exchange program, where Jonathan met an Incan mummy girl, who grew fond of him but had to stay alive. However, she let herself die as she came to blows with the group and couldn't bare taking Jonathan's life. Luckily Amy was there to comfort him.

The craziest events came when Cordelia invited Buffy to a frat party where the fraternity sacrificed teenaged girls to a demon for over fifty years. Xander and Jesse easily handled the demon, and Buffy nearly came to blows with Giles, as she had lied to him. Halloween itself was even worse as someone cast a spell turning everyone into their costumes, except Xander, Jesse and Jonathan. The group had another battle with Spike and nearly dusted him until everyone returned to normal. Spike had not been seen since but the Scoobies would always be ready for him. Added to the list was an old friend of Buffy's who turned up only to get involved with vampire worshippers. They saved them all from Spike when Buffy's friend was going to hand them over. Turns out he had a brain tumor, which Xander had healed him from thanks to training, and received a knockout from Xander. One of the girls in the cult, Joan wanted to thank Xander but he rebuffed her and said for her to find something more productive. Finally, a blast from Giles past had turned up as a demon they had summoned intended to hunt them and kill them all. The demon had almost possessed Jenny except that Xander had protected her and they managed to destroy the demon easily thanks to Xander and Jesse. Everything has been quiet since.

However, there were still personal issues that some needed to deal with. Xander for one had been hanging around less and less with Buffy and Willow as he noticed that Buffy never really seemed to regard his or Jesse's opinions and tended to be more reckless. Despite her strength, Buffy's powers were very limited compared to the boys. They had wondered what exactly the description of slayer strength meant as Buffy was able to fight harder than a normal person but could still lose to them, if only because of their abilities. Along with that, Buffy had never apologized to Xander about the humiliation at the Bronze. He never really expected her to say anything but it hurt that she called him a friend and still treated him so harshly. Jenny herself was still getting over Giles secret that could've led to God-knows-what. She had her own secret but it was not something that was putting anyone in danger, as her relatives never divulged what would could Angel to lose his soul. Her thoughts on the matter only led back to how foolish the elders were being, let alone the curse in the first place.

Buffy and Willow walked through the school as career week was in full effect at school. Buffy was moping she thought they she may not have a future considering her death at the Masters months ago. She had talked with Willow about this before but Willow had not voiced her opinions and concerns but now felt she needed to.

"I mean I've never really given it much thought since I became a slayer. I mean why think about the future if I might not have one?" Buffy asked the redhead.

"Buffy, you know you're not alone in this. Xander and Jesse are all supercharged now and they've taken everything that came around. They'll protect you," Willow tried to reassure.

"Well...yeah. But they won't always be around though. I mean something could make them separate from us," Buffy tried refuting.

"Except that it's already started," Willow tried to mumble, but Buffy's slayer hearing caught on.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"Well, Buff, you've been kind of leaving Xander hanging. I mean he brought you back during that whole thing with the Master. But then months later you practically strip-tease him in front of everyone at the Bronze. And you've never really apologized to him," Willow explained. Buffy only looked down in shame as she thought about Willow's words. Needless to say, Willow was right. She wasn't so sure she could really handle being around Xander, seeing as he could likely blast her to oblivion with his powers.

"I just...I don't know Wills. I don't want Xander to snap on me. But it's not like I wouldn't deserve it," Buffy said.

"Well, you'd better do something. Because here he comes," Willow said pointing at Xander, who walked alongside Jesse and Jonathan.

"Oh god," Buffy huffed.

"Hey guys," Willow said happily.

"Hey Wills," Jesse replied back, in earnest.

"Hi," Jonathan said with a smile.

"Hey," Xander replied somewhat lamely.

"Xander, can I talk to you for a second?" Buffy asked. Xander looked to Jesse who smiled hoping to cheer his friend up, who only returned the look with a pointed stare. Jesse's smile faltered as Xander walked away with Buffy.

"So how have-" Buffy stopped as Xander gave her the same pointed stare he gave Jesse.

"Okay. Listen...I wanted to apologize for how I treated you. You've been a good friend and I shouldn't stepped on that with what I did. Truth is I wanted to make Angel jealous. But I shouldn't have done that to you," Buffy said. She saw Xander's eyes flinch for a second at the mention of the cursed vampire but chose not to think about it.

"Alright," Xander said as he began to walk away. Buffy grabbed his arm to stop him.

"That's it? Xander I treated you like...I mean are you really going to just leave it like that?" Buffy asked, confounded.

"What do you want me to say Buffy? I got over already," Xander said as he slightly pulled his arm away.

"Xander? Don't you want any payback for what I did?" Buffy asked.

"You apologized. That's all I really need to leave it at," Xander responded as he walked away.

"Hey. How'd it go?" Willow asked as she came up.

"Well, he seem to take it well. But he sounded kind of tired of me," Buffy said in confusion.

"Well, maybe he'll come back as our Xander-shaped friend again," Willow said hopefully. Buffy smiled at her friend.

Xander walked through the halls as he contemplated Buffy's apology. He wasn't surprised that Buffy's treatment over him at the Bronze that night was over Angel. However, that wasn't the only thing that made him slightly cringe as he remembered what he and Jenny talked about after his vision quest. He was wondering how long they could keep the secret. as he rounded a corner, taking him towards Jenny's class, he saw the techno-pagan come towards his way. He stopped short of her classroom as she came closer. Jenny saw him and smiled with such affection that Xander had trouble making eye-contact. He had been wondering why he had felt this way, considering this was his teacher. However, he looked again and saw that there was a bit of sadness.

"Hey. Can we talk?" she asked as she pointed to her classroom.

"Sure," Xander replied. He followed her in as other students hadn't entered yet.

"So what's up?" Xander asked.

"Rupert asked me out," Jenny said. Xander's eyes lit up as he took in her words.

"That's...wow. I wonder who could've helped him with that," Xander said almost sarcastically.

"What do you mean?" Jenny replied.

"This is Giles we're talking about. The man's idea of asking a woman out if to get all English on her, hoping that'll impress her. But then, again, he'd probably sound too pretentious," Xander replied, smiling. Jenny laughed as she thought about how he knew the man and realized he was right. While he himself wasn't pretentious, his manner of speaking tended to make it sound so.

"Still, I don't know what I should do. I mean I told him I'd think about it. But there's someone else," Jenny revealed. Xander's eyes lit up as she said this.

"Really?! That's certainly surprising. So who's the lucky fella?" Xander teased, making Jenny laugh more.

"Can't say yet because he doesn't know. But he will," Jenny said cryptically.

"Oh sure. It's fine," Xander said smiling.

The two spent the rest of the time talking about the career test the juniors had to take. Jenny had to explain that the test had questions based mainly on interests so there would be no trouble with taking the test. The class had finally started and Xander felt relaxed, which was a first in a long time. The first half of the day had proceeded with nothing else unusual and Xander met back up with Jenny.

"Hey. What's the what?" Xander asked.

"I said yes to Rupert. But on the condition that it's not really a date so much as two people getting to know each other. Also...I think I might tell him my secret," Jenny said hesitantly. Xander wasn't sure what to think. But then he wondered why exactly she would consider telling him unless there was some other reason.

"You might want to be careful with that," Xander replied.

"I know. But I'm tired of keeping this in. My clan has been so caught up on revenge that they neglect that there are innocent people. And I'd rather help protect them than to get revenge for something that happened hundreds of years ago," Jenny said. Xander looked at her and saw the truth in her eyes. She had given him a full account of the story and he didn't exactly understand why the clan cursed him with a soul, even as Angel, the part of him that remains human, is suffering and not the demon.

"Just...I don't want you to be hurt," Xander responded. Jenny smiled and go up to hug him until they heard a knock at the door. They looked to see Snyder standing at the doorway.

"I believe you have a test to take in fifteen minutes Harris," the short man sneered. He thought that he had intimidated Xander but the young man had shown no amount of fear. However, Xander seemed to notice that the troll of a man seemed to always be on edge for a principal. What could he be dealing with that he was constantly eying everything and everyone? And why was he constantly on the group's case? Xander only sneered back, which caused Snyder to flinch.

"I'll be there," Xander responded in kind.

After the break was over for Xander, he headed to the classroom to take the career test. The test began and Xander noted that the questions seemed rather simplistic that he felt the test insulted his intelligence. He practically breezed through the test and left the classroom when he was done. The rest of the day passed without incident as everyone decided to head home.

Later that night...

Xander and Jesse took their turn of patrolling the cemeteries as they had done for months. With group's addition of power, it was decided that there would be different methods of patrolling. However, Xander was annoyed at the reason why they had taken this one. He had figured maybe it would be just this one time and then the patrol would go fairly normal. But then considering the way things had been for months, he shouldn't be surprised.

"So what do you think Buffy and Angel are up to?" Jesse said hoping to get his friend to talk about his pent up frustration.

"Long as he doesn't do anything with her that involves the horizontal foxtrot, I don't care," Xander replied a bit heatedly.

"I understand that banging a corpse is just...sick. But you seem a bit more frustrated by this than I thought you'd be," Jesse said.

"If he was anything like Gabriel, I wouldn't be. But he's not," Xander said.

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked. Xander asked and just looked at his brother.

"Well, Angel is a vampire. But he isn't like Gabriel, who drank a vamp's blood while he was alive. He died and was fed Darla's blood. And you've seen how those guys are," Xander explained. Jesse looked out at the street for a second then turned back to Xander.

"So in other words, he was a monster. But his soul made him different," Jesse surmised. Xander nodded his head, then explained everything he and Jenny talked about from the Gypsy clan cursing Angel, to how the curse is affecting the part of Angel that is human.

"So when is she going to tell everyone else?" Jesse asked.

"She's going to start by telling Giles, which I think she may be doing now," Xander responded. Jesse wondered why Xander would know this but didn't comment.

"How do you think Buffy will handle it?" Jesse asked, as a vampire jumped out, only for Jesse to stake it right there.

"Knowing her, she's going to freak out," Xander replied.

"Why's that?"

"I've had a couple of months to think this over and honestly, from what I've read, Buffy's attitude as a slayer is...simply put, the way she goes about everything will get her in trouble one day. It's either her way or get out the way," Xander explained.

"Think it'll change?" Jesse asked.

"Maybe," Xander replied. He turned as he sensed a fairly weak vampire in the cemetery they were passing.

"I feel it. Let's get him," Jesse said as the boys took off running. They spotted a vampire with glasses carrying something wrapped in a cloth in his hand. The vampire tried to run only to be blasted to dust by Xander. The object the vampire held dropped to the ground. Xander picked up the wrapped item, unraveled it, and found a golden cross.

"That's weird. Maybe we should take this to Giles," Xander suggested.

"Maybe in the morning. I don't feel anything else in the area. It's really weird when the hellmouth is quiet," Jesse said.

"Let's just get out of here," Xander responded. The boys immediately took off towards their respective homes.

The next day...

The school day was in full swing as everyone checked the results of the test they had taken. Xander and Jesse didn't really think much of it as they were focused on surviving. As they entered the library, they heard what sounded like a heated discussion. They noticed Giles and Jenny talking with Buffy as Willow, Amy, Jonathan, and Cordelia sat and observed. But what caught the boys attention was a beautiful mocha-skinned girl with braids down to her shoulders, in red pleather pants, a somewhat tight, dark-brown shirt exposing some of her cleavage, with pouty lips and eyes that had gave her an edge.

"Um...are we interrupting?" Jesse asked looking at everyone.

"Oh. Um, well something rather odd has occurred. This young lady is Kendra Young. She was sent by her watcher, Sam Zabuto, to deal with a dark power that seems to be rising," Giles explained. Xander and Jesse walked further in. Xander smiled at Kendra, who looked away shyly. Jesse stopped in front of her.

"Hi. Jesse McNally at your service," Jesse said politely, while also bowing. Kendra put her hands behind her back, and looked at the floor.

"Um, yes. I mean...sir. Uh-I," Kendra began incoherently rambling. Everyone looked at her then to Giles for an explanation. Giles only shrugged.

"So what brings her here?" Xander asked.

"Apparently she's a slayer," Jenny answered still confused by everything. The boys' eyes widened as they realized why that was possible.

"I'm not sure whether to say oops or awesome," Jesse said half-joking and half-serious.

"What do you mean Jesse?" Giles asked.

"Buffy had drowned when she went to fight the Master. When me, Jesse, and Angel found her, she was clinically dead," Xander explained. Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what the two boys were saying.

"I can't believe this," Buffy said almost cursing.

"At any rate, boys the cross you showed me seems to have another purpose. It seems a man Josephus Du Lac made a number of these crosses. However, there were some vampiric texts that held some truly disturbing and, might I add, horrid rituals and prophecies. It seems this particular cross is able to translate those texts. Apparently, Du Lac had all the crosses destroyed except this one," Giles explained.

"Why didn't he destroy this one? Did he figure 'hey, these vampires won't be smart enough to find it. Why not bury it here?'. I mean that seems too obvious when you think about it," Cordelia surmised for everyone to hear. Everyone looked at the cheerleader surprised, except for Xander and Jenny.

"Don't ask me what was thinking. I just research this stuff. Anyway, without this cross, Spike won't be able to do what he's seeking to accomplish, so we can attack him. For now, we'll just have to find out what Spike wants," Giles responded. Everyone split up. Jesse decided to see about Kendra.

"Hi. Was I a bit...odd when I introduced myself?" Jesse asked her. She looked down again and began muttering until Jesse cut her off.

"Hey. Slow down. I'm just asking a question," Jesse said as she looked into his which she couldn't help staring into.

"I-I'm sorry. I've never had a chance to talk to boys my age," Kendra said. Jesse's eyes widened as he had never met a girl who had not known how to speak to a guy. But then he thought of Willow.

"Well, you don't have to be shy around me. We're both humans here. No more, no less. Even with our superpowers," Jesse added.

"What?" Kendra looked at the young man surprised.

"Yeah. Me and Xander have powers," Jesse said as he showed her his hands as it lit up with the red crackling energy.

"Xander has the same thing, except his energy is blue. All we know is that his is associated with Light energy and mine is associated with Shadow energy," Jesse explained.

"I know that. There was an organization in the 11th century that used magic based on those aspects," Kendra stated clearly.

"I can ask about it later. We should figure out what Spike is up to," Jesse said as he and Kendra joined the others. They heard Buffy's story about how she was attacked by a one-eyed demonic assassin, which caused Angel to freak out and how she stopped by Angel's apartment and how she met Kendra. The Jamaican slayer immediately felt a sense of regret as she realized what was may have done to Angel. She explained that she left him in a bar called Willy's. Xander and Jesse looked to each other and realized what they would do. They got up and decided to head out. As the went into the main hallway, Buffy's name was called by a police officer. Buffy turned and was met with a gun pointed at her. The officer fired her gun, as the rest of the group ducked when they saw the gun, except Willow, who turned too late. Xander reached up to grab her but didn't make as a short, brunette male pushed her out of the way. Jesse jumped to his feet, and landed a flying kick on the officer, who flew back into a wall, which cracked under impact.

Everyone stood up, even those who ducked as they heard the gunfire. Snyder came around the corner. He seemed to know why the policewoman was there besides the career fair. However, he had a job to do.

"SUMMERS! My Office! NOW!" Snyder shouted, but noticed that Xander blocked her from moving.

"She's not going anywhere you troll. She was the one the so-called officer shot at, unprovoked," Xander replied heatedly. The students who were around looked on and then shouted in agreement. One of the students even came forward and said how the officer simply explained what she would teach them, and proceeded with a roll-call, starting with Buffy, when she suddenly opened fire. Snyder looked furious that the situation was slipping through his fingers. He knew the students would be the only reason that he couldn't try and force Buffy out.

"Hey. She's wearing this weird ring. Hold on," Jesse said as he slapped the officer awake. As she opened her eyes, Jesse grabbed her and stood her up. while locking one arm behind her back, while holding onto the other. He pushed her over to the group.

"Do you know this girl?" Jesse asked, as his question was about Buffy.

"Elizabeth 'Buffy' Anne Summers," the officer answered.

"How exactly do you know her?" Jesse asked. She refused to answer, only for Jesse to tighten the lock he had her arm in.

"AH! She's my intended target! I'm an assassin!" the officer said.

"Who do you work?!" Jesse shouted. The officer was about to refuse until she realized that this kid was stronger than he should be. She decided to come clean.

"I'm with the Order of Taraka!" the officer answered. Giles', Kendra's, and even Snyder's eyes widened at the mention of the organization.

"Oh my god..." Snyder said. Xander and Jesse looked at him. Jesse let the officer go, only for her to run off. Buffy and Kendra were about to go after her, but a cloud of smoke with tendrils of red orbs caught their attention. They heard a gurgling noise and saw the officer carried by her neck thanks to Gabriel.

"Nice timing," Buffy said. Gabriel smiled at the blonde slayer.

"Sorry but you all seemed to be doing this sooner than expected," Gabriel explained.

"That's not the only thing. What the hell do you know you troll?!" Jesse shouted at Snyder. The short man shook with fear knowing the implications of what he would say.

"I...I can't say it here. Let's go to the library," Snyder answered as he walked towards the library. The scoobies followed him.

When everyone resettled in the library, Snyder explained everything to them. The mayor told him to keep an eye on Flutie before he was killed. With Snyder as principal, he could keep an eye on Buffy's group, seeing as the school was situated on the hellmouth. Snyder's job was to see that Buffy didn't do anything to hinder the mayor's plans which even he knew nothing about. But the mayor just creeped him out. The entire group was shocked as they realized they were being targeted form the start.

"Here's the deal, troll. You get to live since we need a bit more help. So you start doing for us, or you face the mayor," Jesse delivered. Snyder sweated in his suit as he knew he'd have to pay either way.

"Alright, what can I do for you?" Snyder relented.

Abandoned Church

Spike and Drusilla stood inside dilapidated building as the platinum-blonde vampire tried to think of another method to heal Drusilla, who never recovered from the ambush in Prague. Angel was strung up by his wrists. Two of the Tarakan assassins stood by the vampires. There was the policewoman and a man with glasses and curly hair who had bugs crawling on his face, as well as Spike's minions. They heard a loud boom coming from the entrance of the sanctuary. The doors burst open as Jesse entered with the Shadow energy covering his entire body, with the rest of the gang following. He fired a beam of energy at Spike, who didn't have time to move. He was dusted as the the intensity of the attack was too much. The assassins and other vampires rushed in to attack but were all killed with a swing of Gabriel's shadow whip. The energy from the attack burned the bugman who disintegrated into a number of bugs which all burned. Xander entered next only to see Drusilla draining Angel of his blood. He rushed over and threw the vampiress off of Angel. He went to finish but was stopped by Gabriel.

"What are you doing?" Xander asked.

"Something's off with her. And I don't mean her insanity. Stay here," Gabriel said as he approached the vampiress. Drusilla looked up as Gabriel stood over her with the Light aura covering his body. He knelt down and laid his hands on her head. The aura covered her head and she screamed as a result. However, instead of destroying her, it seemed to be doing something that no one could determine. Soon, Gabriel's aura changed to Shadow and did the same as the Light but grew much more intense than the light aura. It did not harm her but there was something to this that the rest of the group could not understand. Drusilla went still, then her eyes fluttered open.

"Where am I? What did you do?" the woman asked. Gabriel looked at her with sympathy in his eyes.

"What do you think?" Gabriel asked rhetorically.

"My mind is clearer than it once was. Oh dear God! The things I did with Spike and Angelus!" Drusilla said almost freaking out.

"No. It wasn't you. It was the demon that inhabited your body. But it's gone now. And now you are...more or less what you once were," Gabriel answered.

"I saw a beautiful that accompanied your shadow. He seemed to speak to you. Who was he?" Drusilla asked. Gabriel smiled as she asked.

"I'm afraid I'll have to answer another time. We should go everyone," Gabriel said as he picked up Drusilla bridal-style and carried her out. Xander decided to help Angel. He approached the ensouled vampire and lifted him to his feet but whispered in his ear.

"You try to get intimate with Buffy, and you're be dead for good," Xander threatened. Angel only nodded as he knew Xander could come through with his threat.

Later that night

Everyone sat in the library celebrating another victory. However, there were still some questions that they needed to know. But for now, everyone was enjoying the moment. Everyone got up to leave. But Giles had something to say.

"Before everyone leaves, there's something you need to know," Giles said making everyone stop.

"What's up Giles?" Buffy asked.

"Actually, something I need to tell you all," Jenny said. She stood before everyone and explained why she was in Sunnydale and how she knew about the supernatural. Everyone was shocked, particularly Buffy and Angel. Giles was about to blow up until...

"Chill G-Man. Taking the moral highroad with her will not be your best move, especially with the whole incident with Eyghon. Besides, she already said the elders of her clan didn't tell her how the curse could be broken, only that it could," Xander said heatedly at the older man. Giles backed down since Xander had a point. The Kalderash elders weren't exactly forthcoming with the information so Jenny was not at fault. However, he was surprised to see Xander defend her the way he did.

"She's not the only one with a confession," Gabriel said. He proceeded to tell everyone about his life a millennia ago. The rest of the group nearly fainted as they couldn't process everything so quickly but recovered. Xander, Jesse, Jenny, and Cordelia already knew, however.

"So what brought you here?" Kendra as her view of everything went from black-and-white to grey in an instant.

"I've seen visions in dreams. So I'm here to change everything. And so far we've succeeded. With some help," Gabriel added. He turned and began to walk out of the library.

"Wait, will you still be here?" Cordelia asked. Everyone looked at her as she had been silent.

"I shall. The road to a bright future is always long," Gabriel said before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, I'm going home," Xander said as he walked out of the library. Everyone else moved to leave as well. Outside the library, Jenny caught up with Xander as he was reaching the main hallway.

"Wh...why are you leaving so soon?" Jenny asked as she was catching her breath.

"It's been a long two days and I really just want to rest," Xander answered.

"Well, you don't necessarily have to go home. You won't have to deal with your parents. You can stay with me for tonight," Jenny offered. Xander was about to respond until Jenny gently pressed her lips to Xander's, catching him off guard.. She pulled away and Xander missed the contact. Jenny smirked at him took his hand as she pulled him along. Unknown to them, Willow had spotted them and started crying at what she saw.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Don't own either of these respective series.

Author's note: This chapter is about to introduce an idea that is both shocking and yet likely true to a certain group with the way things have changed in this story so far. Now I've already mentioned how things would be different, starting with Gabriel's appearance and Jesse's life being spared. Looking over the event of the tv show's canon, I wonder why Joss Whedon felt it necessary to have characters killed off. Drama can only go so far, and not everyone has to be killed off. I really hated the fact that Jenny was one killed off because what she knew and didn't know had no direct effect of Angel losing his soul. And for that to have been the reason that Buffy suddenly kicks into high gear, is a very irritating fact about his writing when it came to that show. In other words, the show may be called Buffy, but that doesn't mean she's the most important person. So now here's the start of the next story.

Mid January, 1998

Calendar Residence

Sunnydale

It was a Saturday morning as the rays from the morning sun began to filter into the bedroom. The rays of light finally landed on a young man's chest. Next to him was another body of a woman. As he looked around, he looked up at the ceiling and remembered everything about the previous month and a half. Xander thought back to his first time with the beautiful techno-pagan who was wrapped in his arms. When she had offered him a chance to stay with her the night they had killed Spike and converted Drusilla, she had gently kissed him and led him away from the school. He had no idea what would happen the moment they would get to her home.

One month ago...

_After stopping by Xander's home to pick up clothes, she had hastily made it back to her home. As the two entered, Xander was surprised when, after hearing the door slam, Jenny had attacked him and captured his lips in a hungry kiss that literally took his breath away. He had a hard time just trying to match her pace, as he wanted her just as much, but was inexperienced in the physical intimacies between a man and woman. However, Jenny had slowed down and finally pulled back, giving Xander a predatory look that made the young man nervous but all the more aroused. The computer teacher led him to her bedroom upstairs where she kissed him much gentler, lightly pushing him back until he fell back on her bed. She moved to straddle him and proceeded to unbutton his shirt while kissing him. His chest exposed, Jenny trailed kisses down his pecks and stopped just above his abs._

_Xander slowly removed Jenny's blouse as he wanted to savor the time he would have before everything got hot and heavy for the two. The blouse finally gone, Jenny removed her black bra and Xander was enamored by the sight of her bare breasts. The next thing he knew, Jenny was expertly undoing his pants button and zipper and suddenly, they were gone. Next came to the skirt that Jenny was wearing, revealing black panties, while Xander was left in nothing but his boxers. Jenny leaned over to kiss him further while grinding her crotch with Xander's, making the feeling unbearable before Xander removed the older woman's underwear and switched their positions, leaving him on top, and between her legs as they continued trading kisses._

The rest of that night had proceeded in a feeling of indescribable pleasure and shared love between the young man and the computer teacher. Since that night, Xander and Jenny had made love almost every chance they got and reveled in the feelings that passed between them. However, Xander knew eventually that everything would come to a head as the group would likely see it sooner or later. He wasn't sure how the girls, apart from Amy, would take the idea of him dating the technopagan. He knew for certain Giles would likely tear his head off, or try to. The young man really felt happy just being with Jenny as she didn't see the goofy guy as the others thought. The more he thought on it, the more he figured Buffy would probably come at him about how dangerous it is for him to date a teacher. It would be all the more ironic, and hypocritical, seeing as she's been seeing a vampire who could lose his soul. He knew Angel would continue to see Buffy despite his warning, but Xander realized that relationship was doomed. He felt a stirring as Jenny was finally waking up, lifting her head off his chest. The beautiful Romany woman looked him in his eyes and smiled.

"Good morning handsome," she greeted.

"Good morning beautiful. How'd you sleep?" Xander asked.

"Just as great as the last twelve times we've gone at this. Never knew you could be such an animal, Xander," Jenny replied playfully. Xander tried to hide his face growing red at the underlying praise from the older woman. He thought that she was being too nice in her compliments but the look in her eyes told him otherwise as he saw a gleam every time they made love.

"Well, we better get ready for the school day," Xander said to his lover.

"Which reminds me, what do we do about the others?" Jenny asked.

"For the moment, it's not their business, especially where Buffy is concerned," Xander said almost exasperatingly.

"Did you and Buffy have a fight?" Jenny asked.

"What? No. Why?" Xander asked looking confused.

"Xander, you don't say your friend's name like that unless something's wrong. So what happened?" Jenny asked, concern in her voice. Xander sighed, as he thought how best to answer her question.

"Lately, Buffy's attitude about the fighting has been getting on my nerves. I haven't told Jesse but Buffy's been taking this less seriously than she should ever since me and Jesse stopped that business with the Master. Just because we're super-powered doesn't mean any of us gets to relax. We could all go at any time if we're careful. And I can't lose my friends. I can't lose you," Xander said determinedly, looking into his lover's eyes. Jenny felt her breath hitch briefly as his words hit her, making her feel even more loved by the young man.

"It's okay if we can relax a little bit. After all, what do you think we've been doing every night? Aside from the obvious," Jenny said, smirking again at her younger lover. Xander's face turned red at the implication, and shyly looked away.

"Come on sweetheart. We're going to be late if we don't get a move on," Jenny said.

"Right behind ya," Xander said, smirking slightly.

"We'll save that for another time, Xan," Jenny joked as they made their way out of the door.

Sunnydale High School

Jenny had pulled up about two blocks away from the institution atop the hell-mouth as she didn't want Xander to get in trouble for being seen with her in such a manner. On the way, Jenny and Xander had discussed how their relationship had to be kept under wraps so as not to create any drama in the group. Xander had a feeling that if Giles ever found out, everything would blow up to massive proportions, especially when Buffy and Willow have been supporting each other the way they have since the Master was destroyed. Xander figured Jesse would be the only one to see reason and logic as he knows almost every bit of the group's dynamics except for Xander and Jenny's. Besides, he himself was fairly smitten with Willow so what could he really say? Xander made his way inside the school building where he was greeted by a smiling Cordelia.

"Hey. So you going to be ready for the party?" Cordelia asked.

"Party? Oh, Buffy's party. Right. Yeah," Xander caught. With all the craziness and working hard to keep the town safe, and having been busy with Jenny, he had nearly forgotten about the surprise party the group was throwing for Buffy.

"You sounded really convincing. Wanna try with less feeling?" Cordelia said smirking.

"Sorry. I haven't really felt too relaxed since that whole church thing with Spike and Drusilla," Xander admitted, intentionally leaving out any mention of Jenny.

"Xander, it's over. We're good for now. You've got to learn to take a seat back and enjoy the good while it's around," Cordelia said in a rare moment of wisdom.

"Yeah. You're right. So, to the library?" Xander asked, hoping to get his mind right as the group had been able to breathe since the Tarakan assassins had been defeated. As the two teens entered, the noticed the rest of the group minus Buffy and Willow, and began to chat.

Higher Plane

Cornell, Carmilla, and Marie stood around the viewing pool as they each noticed something was wrong.

"Seems chaos will come about very soon for the group," Carmilla noted.

"Yes. The question is how and why?" Cornell added as he was confused himself.

"A dark power will be rising. But something else will arrive to remedy this situation," Marie said, almost in a trance-like voice.

"What do you propose will happen, exactly Marie?" Carmilla asked.

"Whatever is rising on the material plane is powerful. While not as powerful as the Forgotten One, it can prove just as dangerous. But I sense something else coming, not of this world, yet benevolent. I can't say for sure what. But it seems all may not be lost," Marie explained. Cornell and Carmilla looked to each other before all three looked back to the viewing pool.

The next day...

The Bronze

The evening seemed eerily calm as everyone, including Angel, bar Buffy and Jenny had arrived at the club, renting it out for Buffy's surprise birthday party. Amy and Jonathan seemed to be talking quietly amongst themselves, as if they were getting closer. Xander took notice of Jesse looking at the dark brunette who saved her from being shot. He remembered the boy's name being Oz. He had finally seen the last vestiges of Jesse's hope shatter as Willow seemed to be taken in by Oz's attitude and demeanor, or lack thereof for any who didn't know him. Xander approached his brother and laid his left hand on his right shoulder.

"You alright man?" Xander asked. Jesse turned to Xander and saw that the concern and disappointment he felt for him. Jesse merely smirked.

"Yeah, I'll live. Always other fish, right?" Jesse said laughing slightly. Xander smiled back, as he saw that there was still hope for his best friend. They heard sounds outside the building and wondered what could be going on. Xander noticed Jenny rush in and approach him and Jesse with a look of worry.

"We've got a problem. There were some vampires outside and Buffy is fighting them. I think she needs your help, boys," Jenny quickly explained. Before anyone could do anything else, one of the tinted windows shattered as Buffy and one of the vampires she was fighting tumbled in a big heap. At that same time, an unknown figure had swooped in dragged the vampire up, twisted it around, and then promptly ripped it's head clean off with his bare hands. The figure stepped into the light and visbly shocked everyone.

"Xander?!" Willow yelped loud enough for everyone to hear. However, her comment wasn't directed at the young man she had known. The figure looked exactly like the Xander everyone knew, except he was slightly taller and his face seemed to appear older and his frame more muscular. The most distinguishing feature was the older Xander's left eye, which appeared to have been slashed and burned. As everyone stared in amazement, the older Xander only said one thing.

"Oh shit," he said.

"I second that," the younger Xander said as he looked as his older self.

"Who exactly are you?" Jesse said as he charged energy as charged his energy.

"I'm Xander Harris. But for now you can call me Alex. I'm not from this universe," Alex said as he began explaining.

"Another universe? You must be joking," Giles said, not believing his own eyes.

"No Mr. Giles, he's telling the truth. His aura is different from our Xander," Amy said hoping to convince the Englishman.

"Plus his scent is different. The question is why is here?" Drusilla spoke up, surprising everyone including Alex. The new arrival took a look at Drusilla and realized she was no longer a vampire as she was on his world. She had regained her soul but had become stronger than human.

"Just what the hell happened to you that you came here?" Xander asked his other self.

"It wasn't entirely my choice to come here. But there are some things you guys need to be filled in on," Alex said as he approached the group. He began explaining all of his exploits, from the crisis that was Angelus, to the Mayor's plans. Afterward, he explained how he and Faith had encountered the Charmed Ones and learned of a world that was much greater than they anticipated, including having met Gabriel Belmont, and the battles with Saleos, or Glory as she called herself. He ended his story with how he had wound up here. Everyone had grown shocked and shaken by the story they were told. Since meeting Sachiel, they knew things were much greater than anticipated. But hearing the traveler's tale had proven too much to take all at once. Buffy and Angel looked to each other with deep sadness, knowing that they're time together was officially up. They could never truly be happy as their relationship would prove detrimental to everyone around them.

"We already figured the Mayor was in some deep stuff. But that Adam guy and then Glory? Just how powerful are these guys?" Jesse asked.

"They're almost as powerful as me," came a feminine voice, followed by the appearance of a dark-haired woman in silver robes.

"My name is Ariel. I'm one of Alex's guides. The other you've come to know in this world," the angel said as she approached the group.

"I don't understand. You're from another world but you're telling us stuff about the future. Isn't that bad?" Willow spoke up trying to overcome everything she had heard.

"Normally, it would be a violation of the Temporal Prime Directive. But it seems pretty fruitless to even consider by this point. Think about it. In Alex's world, I had already died the same night we met Buffy, only to be brought back a few years later. But I'm still alive because of the interference from Sachiel and Gabriel. If Alex and Ariel showed up here, then something's going to happen that we need to fix or make sure stays on track so that the future doesn't go wrong," Jesse explained, leaving everyone wide-eyed including Giles.

"Jesse, how on earth did you come across this theory?" Giles asked one of his charges.

"You see this a lot in comic books. And as Ariel has shown, it's more than just some fringe theory. In Alex's world, he was given power so that things could change and he was chosen, likely because he had done something to prove that he could handle the responsibility, and someone up in the sky thought they could point him in the right direction. It happened to me and Jesse in this world except it started just as everything was beginning to pick up. Along with the likelihood of different outcomes, there's always the possibility that the choices and actions we undertake create a ripple affect. By that extension, where Alex made certain choices in his world after gaining his powers, he's had different outcomes. But here, with slightly different variables, whatever Jesse and I have done has caused a different outcome as well," Xander finished for Jesse. Giles was completely flabbergasted that the two young men had turned what he believed to be a silly premise in entertainment into a well-thought-out explanation of how events and realities were affected by choices.

"Er yes...well um, what do you suppose happens now? With Spike gone and Drusilla on ourside, and oddly more human, where does this leave the Judge?" Giles asked, regaining his composure.

"As far as we know, he will remain inactive. So you all should be at peace for now," Ariel answered.

Higher Plane

A group of ten divine humanoid beings, with hundreds of others looking on, stood around their own viewing pool, watching the events unfold on the material plane. The faces of each individual were not happy with the developments of the events on earth.

"How could this be happening?! We ensured that our plans for a complete balance would come to fruition!" the leader, with long dark hair and blue eyes, said.

"Calm yourself Sariel. We are still in charge of what happens on earth. They may have proceeded so far, but the hellmouth is still in our jurisdiction," the second, with blonde hair and green eyes replied.

"And what would you suggest we do Kushiel?" Sariel replied to his compatriot.

"The Judge was supposed to be active by the end of this night on earth. Perhaps we can still use this to our advantage," Kushiel replied with a contemplative look.

"You do understand that we risk everything by trying to enact this plan? We were meant to guide-" came the voice of a female, with brown hair and brown eyes, among the ranks.

"But never act. Yes we remember, Gadreel. That is why we find the half breed to do it for us. He will gather some of the local vampires and they will follow him. Now we will be back on track. We are the Powers That Be. Our word is law for the humans," Sariel replied as a grim smile appeared on his face. Unknown to the powers, the Ariel of this universe watched and waited until such a time that she would make her presence known.

Beach House

Sunnydale, California

The current agent of the Powers, Whistler sat on the couch of his living room having a beer. He had gotten back from his round of patrolling parts unknown saving any that he could. He began to feel that his life's mission was becoming pointless. He often wondered why his so-called superiors ever needed him as they employed others to do their bidding. Even stranger was why they chose him of all people to be their messenger. He knew for a fact that he wasn't the only one of his kind yet they rescued him when after he was born. Before he could think any further, his mind was assaulted with visions of a group that he had seen in previous visions, with the addition of three more teenagers who shouldn't be there. He saw the two taller young men use abilities he had heard about and only saw from one group before their destruction. He even saw the man who had used said powers appear with the group. What struck him as odd was another version of one of the empowered young men with a different appearance. When the visions stopped, he opened his eyes and saw Sariel appearing before him in a phantom-like visage.

"What the hell do you want?" Whistler spat at the higher being.

"Calm yourself halfbreed. I wouldn't be bothered to come here unless you were of use to the Powers. And now you have a bigger task set before you," Sariel sneered.

"If it's about those kids, you can forget it. I did my job bringing rat-breath into the fold. Those kids are powerful enough to take care of themselves," whistler said moving past the entity. Sariel quickly intercepted the halfbreed's path.

"Don't forget who I am to you. I saved you when the Old Ones were ready to take your life. We kept your mother alive even when we had every reason to thrown her miserable soul into the pits of the fire. We can still do that if you don't obey us," Sariel said with his eyes flashing brilliantly, yet frighteningly. Whistler, while unafraid, worried for the life of the mother he had never known in the many years he had been in service to the Powers.

"What is thy will, my lord," Whistler asked solemnly. Sariel smirked before he revealed the Powers' plan to Whistler.

Angel's Apartment

The cursed vampire sat in the living room as he contemplated his role in the fight against evil. His mind had constantly replayed Xander's threat to him over and over. He thought about the implications the young man made with his words and realized that there was a hidden truth. Since he met Buffy, he had not done as much as he should've in helping her. Whistler told him she would need help but instead, one of her friends would've been dead if not for that imposter. His train of thought was interrupted by a knock on his door. He got up and went over to answer, finding his recruiter looking disparate.

"Whistler, what's-" Angel never finished saying as the halfbreed knocked him across the room.

"I'm sorry," Whistler said before he vanished in a flash of light. What Angel saw next would've made his heart stop if it were still beating. A large, slightly hulking blue demon wearing armor entered his residence with about ten vampires in his service. He recognize the appearance of that demon and realized that he as well as the Scoobies were in real trouble. As he moved to get up, four of the vampires surrounded him and held him down. The Judge approached and looked at Angel.

"You wreak of humanity. It's time your true self resurfaced," The Judge said as he placed his right hand on Angel's chest. The cursed vampire screamed as his soul began to leave his body. His last thought before the demon in him took over, was wishing that he told Buffy how much he loved her.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Don't own either series.

Author's note: For anyone curious as to why I made the Powers as angels, for one thing it's been implied that God and angels might exist in some kind of way in the Buffyverse. After all, the Charmed verse utilizes a similar hierarchy and actual angels but is just as ambiguous about God, despite the inclusions of Wiccans. That alone stands to reason that God exists in some way. And also considering Myresto Mor's appearance in the comic continuation of Buffy, there's always the possibility that God exists, especially considering that Myresto himself could be killed despite his and his sister's claims of being like God. Anyway, I'm not trying to force beliefs down anyone's throats, but just suggesting anyone reading my stories think about this kind of thing.

Jenny led Xander and Alex into her him thinking on everything that she had heard. Just thinking about there being two different versions of the young man she had fallen in love with was proving confusing, although she could think of some benefits to this situation. She looked at the two, who only looked around the house awkwardly, wondering what could've been happening that an alternate version of Xander would come here. She shook the thoughts out of her head as she would only get more headaches.

"So Alex, just how exactly is your world?" Xander asked his other self.

"Well, if anything, it's a gotten a bit more chaotic. But my friends and I have been able to do more than we likely would've if we didn't work together the way we should," Alex answered.

"So in your world, you saved Jenny from Angelus? What happened after?" Xander asked as he was curious about his double.

"Well, she and I became closer, as friends. I wanted more. She did too but she felt that she wouldn't be able to do anything to ease the burden," Alex explained, with a sullen look on his face.

"What do you mean burden?" Jenny asked as she listened.

"Just like you, I have a power. Control over energy. I can lift stuff with my mind, fire off energy blasts, and even enhance my own strength. But from what I can sense, you've got the power of light working with you. Gabriel must've taught you and Jesse about the Light and Shadow energies. Funny, my Jenny was beginning to use both of those powers before everything went to hell with Glory," Xander said, thinking back to events not too long ago. He wondered why on this world the powers were divided between his younger self and his old friend.

"By the way, what's the deal with you and Jenny in this world?" Alex asked. Xander tried not to look at Jenny but couldn't hide the fact as he began turning red.

"You guys slept together didn't you?" Alex asked with a slight smirk.

"Not just that. We're together now. But no one else knows," Jenny answered, moving next to her boyfriend. She took his hand in her's and gave it a gentle squeeze. Xander looked to her and smiled softly. Alex could only think about the two most important women in his life, and smiled himself.

"So what now? I mean it's not like there's anything else we can-" Xander stopped as Jenny suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching her head. In her mind's eye, she saw a big blue hulking demon wearing armor, with horns coming out of the back of it's head and black eyes. Jenny blink for a second and focused her eyes to see both Xanders looking at her concerned.

"What happened?" Xander asked his girlfriend.

"I can't believe it. I had a vision. I saw this big, humanoid demon and it started burning people. I think it was the judge," Jenny explained, causing both Xanders to be shocked.

"That's impossible. We stopped the vampires from getting the last box. He shouldn't be walking around," Alex ruminated. Before anyone else could say anything, the phone rang, which Jenny promptly answered. Jenny's face paled and fell at whatever she was told before she hung up.

"The box is gone. Someone snuck into Rupert's apartment and stole it. There isn't even any evidence of who would've taken it. The place was under lock-and-key and there wasn't even sign of a break-in," Jenny said going into near hysterics.

"We have to get back to the school," Alex said making his way to the door, with his younger double and the technopagan following.

Sunnydale High School

Everyone gathered in the library, followed by Jenny explaining her vision. Needless to say, everyone instantly became worried about the outcome of what they were about to face. However, both Xander's took notice of a certain someone's absence.

"Anyone know where Deadboy is?" Xander asked.

"We haven't seen him since we left the Bronze. I tried calling but I didn't get an answer," Buffy answered.

"I can go and get him. It shouldn't take me long," Xander said as he made his way to the exit. Jenny followed him out and trailed him.

"Xander! Hold on, we don't know where the Judge could be. You have to be careful," Jenny said.

"I'll be fine Jenny. It's just a qucik dash and then I'm back with Deadboy in tow," Xander said with a lopsided grin.

"Xander, I just...I don't want you to get hurt," Jenny said, her voice dropping to just above a whisper.

"I'll be fine. I promise," Xander returned, lifting her head up and placing a soft kiss on her lips. Their shared affection was cut short as a yelp sounded in the hallway. They both looked to see Willow looking back at them in shock and horror.

"Oh god! How could you?!" Willow cried, with fresh tears that flowed down her face.

"Willow, this-it's..." Xander said trying to form the right words.

"I can't believe it. You'd rather be with someone you shouldn't be with instead of me? Your best friend whose loved you since we were kids?! Is there something wrong with me?!" Willow shouted.

"No Willow! God no! I just...I just never felt the same way. I'm sorry. I wish I could say something to make this better," Xander said trying to make it better. Willow shook her head and turned to head back into when someone called out to them.

"Willow, Xander, Ms. Calendar. What are you guys doing?" came Angel's voice.

"Angel? We were just coming to look for you," Willow answered, wiping her eyes clean.

"Is something wrong?" Angel asked as he approached.

"Stop right there Deadboy," Alex said having come out of hiding. He went to follow Xander and Jenny to make sure they stayed safe only to witness the ensuing drama. When he sensed Angel's presence, he immediately knew something was wrong.

"Alex what's wrong?" Angel asked, becoming nervous.

"Don't give me that bullshit act. Why don't you show us who you really are," Xander commanded.

"I don't know what you mean," Angel responded, playfully smirking.

"You know exactly what I mean, Angelus. I was the one who sent Angel to Hell on my world. When he came back, I could sense his soul. You don't have it. So I'll give one chance to back the fuck off," Alex threatened. Ordinarily he would've gone for the vampire straight away, but there was no guarantee the Judge wasn't with them. He wasn't sure whether or not the age old demon was fully powered and chose not to take that chance.

"Oh god!" Buffy said as she approached the group. She put a hand over her mouth as she heard the escalating commotion and Alex's last spoken words. She knew that neither Xander would never make up Angel losing his soul, not without reason. But now she knew; Angelus had returned. The deranged vampire fled in fear of what both Xander's would do as he was always a survivor first. Both Xander's turned back to Buffy and went to see if she was alright. She snapped and slapped Alex across the face, much to everyone's surprise.

"This is your fault! If you hadn't come here, then Angel wouldn't have lost his soul!" Buffy yelled at him. Jenny moved to intervene.

"And you! How do I know you didn't take his soul so Xander could get rid of him!" Buffy accused them.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Xander yelled as Buffy went on a tirade against his older self. The blonde slayer jumped back in shock at his outburst.

"You know better than to accuse anyone of wanting to willingly hurt you that way. With everything Alex told us about the Judge, you should know that could've been how Angel lost his soul. And Ms. Calendar has been nothing but helpful to us, even going so far as to expose herself to us when everything has calmed down. You may love Angel, and even though I didn't like him, I know he wouldn't want you to lash out this way, especially to the people who care for you and watch out for you like a family," Xander said hoping to rally her back to her old self.

"If we're like family, why are you kissing Ms. Calendar?!" Willow suddenly snapped.

"WHAT?!" Giles shouted emerging, along with Jesse who merely looked surprised at his best friend's newly revealed relationship with the computer teacher.

"Xander and Ms. Calendar were kissing! How long has this been going on?!" Willow demanded of her soon-to-be ex best friend. Xander looked down at his feet while Jenny looked in another direction.

"Why won't you answer her?!" Buffy shouted.

"Because despite the circumstances, the fact is, it's no one's business. Funny thing was your counterpart would've made the same argument to me on my world. However, your relationship with Angel was always dangerous as no one knew for sure that he'd always fight alongside us. And now this happened. So now it's time that this comes to an end," Alex responded firmly to the other version of his friend.

"I'm glad you think so. Because Xander and Jesse will need more than their current powers to take on the Judge," Gabriel's voice boomed before he appeared in front of them all.

"Gabriel," Alex regarded.

"Ah yes, Alex. I figured your Ariel would've brought you here," Gabriel responded in kind.

"My Ariel?" Alex asked as he figured he might know the answer.

"Yes. You're in another reality where anything below the Creator makes a choice that ultimately leads to another path taken. Given your appearance, I arrive a few years from now. But more on that later, Xander and Jesse are the only ones who will be able to destroy the Judge with the right weapons," Gabriel began to explain.

"But no weapon forged-" Giles said before he was cut off.

"By man can kill him. But what I provide is not forged by man. Xander. Jesse. Come forward," Gabriel commanded of the two young men, who followed. Gabriel pulled out a sword similar to his, yet the width of the blade seemed about an inch and a half less. Xander too the blade with one hand and twirled it almost professionally, getting a feel for it.

"And this is for you Jesse," Gabriel said as he handed the other young man a pair of black gauntlets.

"These were forged from the energies that course through your bodies respectively. The sword was forged similarly as my Void Sword. It is every bit as powerful as the Void Sword. However, the power it unleashes depends on the wielder. The same for the gauntlets. The gauntlets themselves were formed of pure shadow energy, which is uncorrupted by the evil that manifests in the Shadow plane. Darkness is simply the absence of Light and bares no evil. Only those who use it for any tainted purpose make it so. With these weapons, the Judge will fall," Gabriel explained. Xander looked to his sword. The hilt and pummel resembled a cross with the top part embedded into the blade. The blade itself was three and three quarters feet long, and had a silver reflective surface. Jesse examined the gauntlets, which had a somewhat animal-like appearance. He could feel his power and the energy of the gauntlets just as his best friend could feel the light energy imbued in the sword.

"So what do we do now?" Jesse asked.

"We have to go after the Judge. He is still weak and will need to kill anything human to regain his power. So he will go somewhere that many humans will gather. If we can get to him before he kills, then we can stop him," Gabriel explained.

"I think I might know where he would go," Cordelia said timidly.

"Where?" Willow asked her former enemy.

"The mall. It's the one place in Sunnydale that's always crawling with people. And with a small town like this, the only other place is the Bronze," the brunette explained.

"Dear lord, she's right," Giles surmised.

"Then we go now. Jesse, Xander and I can handle the Judge. But the rest of you have to take care of the vampires. Let's move," Alex said as the group began to leave. Jenny caught up with Buffy, Giles and Willow.

"Wait. Listen, I never intended to cause any trouble. If there's anything I can-"

"Get out," Buffy said not looking at the computer teacher.

"What?" Jenny replied.

"She said get out," Giles followed. Buffy looked surprised at him, as did Willow. Jenny's face deflated as she realized that things were playing out similarly to what Alex had told them. She turned away and walked towards another exit. Xander immediately followed after her.

"Jenny, wait! Where are you going?" Xander asked his lover.

"I'm going home. I can't do much now," Jenny answered her boyfriend.

"If they're going to let this get personal, then screw them," Xander said, catching Jenny off guard.

"They're your friends," Jenny replied.

"Friends don't treat friends the way they've treated us. I've had to play replacement for Buffy on the nights she wanted to be all cuddly with Angel. And now her, Giles, and Willow are ostracizing you for dating me, and they'll like do the same to me when this is over. It's either their way or the highway. I'd rather choose the highway," Xander declared to her. Jenny looked into his eyes and saw sincerity and love. She kissed his lips gently before breaking their embrace.

"I'll see you later," Jenny said, making her way towards an exit. Gabriel came up to the young man looking concerned.

"Do you think everything will be alright?" Gabriel asked.

"If she can make it home yes. Which is why I'm asking that you go with her," Xander requested.

"May I ask why?" Gabriel replied.

"The Judge may be active, and may have vampires working with him and Angelus. But who knows what else would be out there not working for him. Please just...don't let her go alone," Xander pleaded.

"Of course. May the Almighty watch over you," Gabriel said before following Jenny's trail. Xander steeled himself and followed the others out.

Sunnydale Mall

Shoppers roamed the building, perusing and purchasing what suited their fancy. At that moment, no one was aware of the big blue demon that made his was to the stairs of the mall, or the vampires that followed and secured the exits. As two shoppers ascended the stairs, they took notice of the Judge, who held out a hand and fired a beam of energy at them, causing them to disintegrate after a few seconds. The demon looked at the patrons and shot as much power, capturing almost everyone in the mall. Before anything else could be done, a crossbow bolt hit the Judge directly where the heart would be. His absorption was interrupted as the energy dispersed, releasing the shoppers. The age-old demon looked up and spotted the scoobies approaching.

"Damn. That's a big ass smurf," Jesse joked. Everyone present passed him odd glances, including Xander and Alex.

"Right," Jesse shrank back and steeled himself again.

"No weapon forged can kill me," the Judge said.

"That's why we brought these," Alex said, stepping forward and summoning his sword from Sachiel on his world. Xander and Jesse stepped forward and summoned the sword and gauntlets, each weapon shimmering with their respective auras.

"Impossible! Where did you get those weapons?!" The Judge demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Alex said, before launching an energy bolt at Angelus and a vampire minion. The deranged vampire, narrowly dodged the blast, which his cohort wasn't as fortunate to evade.

"Big blue is ours. You guys take out the leeches," Alex said as he, Xander, and Jesse charged the Judge. Buffy, Willow, and Giles followed the vampires, with Buffy going after Angelus. The boys surrounded the Judge and sized him up.

Jesse led the attack with three hooks to the demon's face, making him stumble. The Judge immediately followed with a backhand, knocking Jesse away. Xander and Alex immediately followed with a litany and punches and swipes of their swords, damaging the demon. Jesse got back into the fight and threw in his own attack; Jesse charged his right gauntlet with shadow energy, making the weapon crackle. Jesse launched his palm at the demon, releasing the built up energy and sent the Judge through the wall. The three young man charged as much of their own energies into their weapons. As the Judge got back on his feet, the three warriors charged, with the two Xanders stabbing the demon's chest and Jesse piercing the demon's hide. The judge coughed up blood before the three removed their weapons. The Judge fell to the ground without so much as another word or movement. The Judge was dead. The three looked to each other.

"I'm going to check on Giles and Willow," Jesse said before he took off towards the food court.

"We'd better see if Buffy got the job done," Xander said to his interdimensional double. The two tracked down the blonde slayer to find her in battle with Angelus. For Alex, it was like reliving a part of his history that he hadn't been witness to. He watched as Buffy had Angelus cornered and at her mercy, only to hesitate. He heard Angelus taunt her further, and then suddenly wince in pain as Buffy kicked him where it would hurt every man.

"Give me time. And I will be," was all that Alex heard her say, as he became infuriated as to how the vampire escaped to begin with. He felt fortunate that Buffy hadn't noticed them.

"We're not giving her that time or that chance," Alex said to his younger self. He moved over to where his most hated enemy knelt, still in pain from Buffy's blow. The vampire looked up as he picked up two distinct scents.

"Well, well. The White Knights have come. What will you do? Kill me? You really think Buffy will go for that? Especially when she can have her dear Angel back?" Angelus taunted. As much as he hated being chained thanks to Angel's soul, it was better he survive been face oblivion.

"Buffy made that mistake on my world, and it cost lives. Almost cost Ms. Calendar's. I'm not letting that happen again. Kill him," Alex said to his younger self. Xander raised his sword, and swung down on Angelus' neck. The head fell off, followed by the rest of the body dusting. Xander looked to his double and moved back inside the mall. They found Buffy talking with Giles, Jesse, and Willow before the Englishman noticed them approaching.

"Hey. What happened?" Jesse asked as he noticed the look on his best friends' faces.

"Angelus has been taken care of," Xander replied. Buffy and Willow's faces took on shocked expressions while Giles merely looked confused on what to say. Buffy immediately went to punch Xander, only for the hit to be stopped by Alex's fist.

"What do you think you're doing?" Alex asked.

"Please don't start fighting!" Willow begged.

"Why shouldn't I fight these two? They killed Angel! We could've brought his soul back!" Buffy shouted.

"First of all, you wouldn't have stood even a chance in hell in beating either one of us. Second, the moment Angel's soul left his body, Angelus was in complete control. Angel was already gone," Xander spat back.

"Are you still jealous about him?!" Buffy retorted as she felt herself losing control.

"No. I could never be jealous a two hundred year-old, child molesting leech. Besides, I've gotten over you. So get over yourself," Xander said as he moved past the group, with Alex following his trail.

"You know, Xander's right," Jesse said.

"How can you say that Jesse?!" Willow yelled at him.

"Open your eyes Willow! We've all read about the kind of Vampire Angelus was to begin with. The part of him that was Angel, the human soul, did nothing except make him rage further until he would be free. The Kalderash were the ones who ripped Angel's soul from wherever it was and forced it into the body. The part of Angel that was still human felt the guilt that they wanted the demon to. They were stupid in trying to do it anyway. Xander and Alex were doing what anyone should do in a crisis like this: save lives. That's what you're supposed to do as a slayer. You damn near let him run free to kill others. And what if we hadn't done anything? He would've killed Ms. Calendar. Would that have been enough to make you kill him?" Jesse shouted. Willow shrank back and Buffy looked both angry and ashamed. Jesse walked off following the two Xanders, leaving the other scoobies to wallow in their own guilt.

Beach House

Sunnydale

Whistler sat in his chair as the events of the night replayed in his head over and over again. He had witnessed the two boys and the interdimensional traveler prevail over the Judge, part of it to due with Gabriel's and Sachiel's interference. He was actually glad for the archangel and vampire's interference. He himself had seen the way the future was supposed to go, and he didn't like it. He remembered seeing another future up to this point, and he always felt something was off. He never knew that Buffy would actually fall in love with Angel, and with the way Sariel spoke, the Powers knew for certain that key events had to be in motion. However, his flashes into the future further pointed to something horrible as he saw what he assumed to be Buffy and Angel ascend to a power that no mortal or half breed demon would ever have. He could only wonder what the future would hold now that the Powers plans were up in smoke. Whistler suddenly became alert as his senses picked up a powerful, familiar presence. He turned and found Sariel smiling at him.

"Looks like big blue is gone. Your plan didn't quite work out the way you'd hoped," Whistler said. Sariel kept on smiling despite himself.

"Perhaps. But that is why we employed you, half-breed. We have another task for you. Eliminate the McNally boy," Sariel ordered.

"You're out of your fucking mind! I've already stooped to putting the Judge together for you! I'm not killing someone whose doing what your champions should do. Besides, we had a deal," Whistler shouted back.

"You are our agent. You do as we command, or else your dear mother will suffer for her fraternization with your father. I am one of the Powers. What we say goes," Sariel said.

"If that's what you think, then you've got more problems than you think," Ariel's voice came over before she appeared to them.

"Ariel. What are you doing here?" Sariel demanded.

"Watch your tone with our sister, Sariel. She's not in the forgiving mood, and neither am I," Gadreel said as she appeared as well.

"What is this?!" Sariel demanded.

"I launched an inquiry with Father and Michael for what you were attempting to do here. Seeing as you and Kushiel were co-conspirators, you both shall receive punishment. Since the others were under oath to follow orders, they remained silent. But Gadreel was the only one to show courage by coming to me. As for Whistler, his punishment will be to work with those guarding the hellmouth. Now brother, you must face judgment," Ariel said as all three angels vanished.

"Mother. Please be safe."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Don't own any series that is mentioned in this story.

Author's note: So I know what many of you are thinking about the two Xanders killing Angelus. Part of me making a story like this as well as Hand of Fate is to change the show's canon as much as possible. There was a lot that really didn't seem to do much but show that how much most of the characters didn't do in regards to the Angelus crisis. I get that Buffy loved Angel but when she found out the soul was gone and didn't do much or even plan to fight him by some point, that was a bit of red flag on Whedon's part, not because of how he wrote Buffy. It's really because half of the show is dealing with the supernatural, with the other half going of the young people going through the motions of high school, and life afterward. But mixing both with the Angelus crisis, it had to be a point where Buffy should've done something. Again, I blame Whedon for that. And to my guest reviewer, I do understand what you're saying about Xander chewing Buffy out about her relationship. And believe it or not, it was intentional. However, as I had Xander point out, Buffy and Angel's relationship was fatalistic, which is what Joyce pointed out in season 3. Despite whatever reasons she had, Buffy could live a long life since she had her friends. But risking them over a relationship that won't be able to stand is where the big problems were. Despite all appearances, this story isn't bashing Buffy. I actually like her character, but I don't like the way Whedon had written her. This is more me pointing out how things could've changed. And now, the possible conclusion of the Angelus crisis.

Higher Realm

A celestial court was in session, as twelve archangels sat in thrones, surrounding three lone figures. The Ariel of this reality sat with her fellow archangels, as Gadreel, Sariel, and Kushiel stood before them.

"This trial shall now commence. Sariel, you and Kushiel stand accused of sowing chaos and destruction amongst the humans by enlisting a demon. How do you plea?" Michael said to his brother.

"I was only seeking to maintain balance in this war. Just as you would've have used this eldest of those brothers to fight Lucifer in the final battle. Do you remember your original plan, brother?" Sariel replied scathingly at Michael. The archangel's blue eyes glowed an intense white, as his long black hair began to flair as his power skyrocketed. The other angels, including the other Powers, each shook with fear. The other Powers had never supported Sariel and Kushiel's plan to resurrect the Judge as they knew that direct interference was not only against their law but also against the Creator's plan for humanity to learn on their own.

"Ah yes. Father had spoken with me about that. I thought he would punish me for something I had not yet done, but instead he helped. He took me to the Tree of Knowledge," Michael started, as his fellow angels looked on in shock.

"The Tree my lord? Why would Father take you there? He forbade any humans from going," said one of the archangels, named Raziel. He had short brow hair and amber colored eyes and wore a white robe with purple linings.

"I did not understand Father's reasoning at first either. At least...not until the Tree showed me what it needed to. I saw my myself and others like me fight in ways that had shown how corrupt things could become. It was one matter for Lucifer to rebel against us. But what I saw my other self do in another universe to my vessel...it made me feel ashamed. That is why I stopped the planned and commanded the others to find another plan for the apocalypse. My point is that we all have a choice, not just the mortals. When Lucifer rebelled, it was the first time that we realized that everyone had free will. We not only had the choice of who we fought for, but how we fought. And as of late, the forces of light have been fighting rather poorly. That it took Father to ask Sachiel to do what was needed, and for him to bravely accept even knowing possible ramifications shows that we have let the honor of Heaven fall far. From now on, we will help the mortals but will not interfere unless needed. Haniel, proceed with the trial," Michael requested. Haniel had silver hair much like Sachiel, except it was down to his shoulders and his eyes were silver. He also wore a white robe with green linings.

"Yes brother. Sariel has been indited for his actions involving not only direct interference, but also for his part in having the Judge reconstructed and unleashing him upon innocents. Per our oath, Sariel is hereby sentenced to an eternity in the realm of dark light. You will be isolated from Heaven and Hell and you will know no way out of your prison. Your only comfort will be that we did not smite you here. Kushiel had been indited for his conspiracy involving the Judge. Per our oath, he is hereby sentenced to the Citadel, where he will be re-educated and learn the error of his ways," Haniel finished as two other archangels came to take the former leaders of the Powers away. Ariel spoke up next.

"Now for the next order. Gadreel has come forward to reveal the plans of Sariel and Jushiel. It took courage to do so knowing well she herself may have been punished. As such, Gadreel is now leader of the Powers, and shall assist our brother Sachiel in helping to watch over and help those guarding the hellmouth in Sunnydale," Ariel said. Gadreel stood with her mouth agape, then commposing herself and bowing.

"Yes my lord. But what of the half-breed, Whistler?" Gadreel asked.

"Ah yes, Whistler. I've gone over the details involving his birth and the fate of his mother. I'm afraid it was a rather cruel thing what Sariel and Kushiel did. It seems that when they took her away, they had...'punished' her for being involved with Samyaza. However, it seems that she had lost the will to live and had succumbed to injuries. And while her soul was accepted into the kingdom of our Father, they never ceased their torment. The poor boy doesn't even know what happened to her and yet still they used him to no end," Raziel grimly explained.

"Yes. I had seen what would happen in the origin world. The Powers would've manipulated him into trying bring out a universe that would wipe out humanity, by unleashing the Old Ones, who would go on to kill many, including activated slayers, save for the vampire Angelus and the longest lived slayer, Buffy Summers," Michael added further.

"Slayers? As in more than one?" Gadreel asked as she along with the other Powers were confused.

"Yes. It seemed in the origin world, the Summers' girl had found a pagan weapon of Egyptian origin, designed specifically for the use of a slayer, which apparently drove the fallen into Hell. However, the Rosenburg girl would gain enough power to activate the powers of every potential slayer in the world, in order to fight Lilith. However, it seems the supposed shift in power would bring about Barbas using Angelus as a means of stealing power from every slayer and finally giving both him and Summers power to open a tear in reality so that his world would be inhabited by them. In essence, seeking to create his universe to rule over humans. He called it evolving the universe. There's also the matter of one Myresto Mor, coming to Earth, claiming to be beyond the concept of our Father, fool," Raziel finished.

"We can worry about them later. As it stands, the Summers girl is no longer the true slayer. However, we still need a way to change that entire nature of the vampire slayer line so that the power does not corrupt anyone chosen. Continue with with the orders, Ariel," Michael said.

"Yes. Whistler will not be punished as his hand was forced on the entire matter. However, Gadreel will take him under her care and he will also assist in guard the hellmouth in Sunnydale, while also seeing about the sun of Dracul," Ariel finished.

"This order has now been adjourned," Michael said as he and the other angels each dispersed in flashes of light to various places.

Summers Residence

Two weeks later...

Xander had approached the house of his former love with trepidation, preferring to do this later rather than sooner. However, he accepted that the sooner he did it, the less ugly it would turn out. The weeks that had gone by had been odd as Oz, Willow's new interest turned out to be have been recently bitten by a werewolf. Xander and Jesse had managed to subdue him and found a temporary solution until the wolf could either be removed or controlled. Added to that were occurrences where Buffy had become ill and taken to the hospital, which had every worried. Xander and Jesse had guarded her in case any vampires working for Angelus showed up. She had graciously thanked the boys but still felt awkward around Xander. The latest was the school swim coach feeding the swim team steroids through the steam in the sauna, which Buffy herself had taken care of with Xander's help. Now Xander knew for sure the time was right to settle things. He rang the doorbell and was rewarded with the smiling faces of Joyce and Dawn.

"Xander! Hello sweetheart! What brings you by here?" Joyce asked, as she hadn't seen hide nor hair of the young man in weeks. Dawn's smile was just as big as she had developed a crush on the young man.

"Just wanted to see how the Summers' girls were doing. It's been too long," Xander said with a weak smile. Joyce could see that there was more but chose to leave it alone. Buffy had told her what had happened with the Judge and how Buffy had been distraught when she arrived home. After some slight chiding and a serious heart-to-heart, Buffy had calmed down but still had questions. She saw that her daughter had wanted to reconcile herself but was just as afraid as Xander.

"Well come on in. Buffy! Xander's here! We'll leave you two alone. Come on Dawn. I need some help with the garden," Joyce said, as the young sibling followed her mother out. Buffy came down the stairs and looked at her friend with both worry and hope.

"Hey," Buffy said, with a slight smile that he would see her.

"Hey yourself. Looks like life on the hellmouth has been treating you well," Xander said jovially. His idea worked as Buffy's smile widened.

"You too. With our luck, it's going to bite us in the ass," Buffy replied equally, earning a chuckle from the young man. The atmosphere had immediately changed as a serious looked crossed Xander's face.

"I was hoping we could talk about what happened," Xander said.

"You really think we need to? I mean we are good, right?" Buffy asked, hopeful.

"We're good now, but if we don't at least talk this out, then it'll just fester on till it blows up," Xander said seriously. Buffy nodded and took his hand to lead him to the living room to sit down. Xander immediately jerked his away. Buffy was initially annoyed until she realized that he was seeing someone, even if it was their computer teacher.

"Sorry. So where do you want to start?" Buffy asked as she sat next to the young man.

"First, I want to say that I'm sorry about what happened to Angel; the part of him that was still human I mean. Yeah, I never much liked the guy. At the beginning I was jealous. I mean here I was, an average...well not-so-average Joe helping the girl who had my heart fight demons and help save the world, even bringing her back, but she loves him despite his, er condition," Xander began.

"Xander I do appreciate everything you've done. I'm sorry I took that for granted. I just...it still seems like at any second I could go and you or Jesse might not be there. It's just..." Buffy stopped.

"Scary. I know. Sometimes I wonder just how much really is out there. But that's why we do our best. And on that note, there's the whole thing with Angelus," Xander began again.

"Xander, that thing had the face of the man I love. I wasn't even ready to let go right then," Buffy explained.

"Believe, I can only imagine. I mean what if Darla and Luke had gotten Jesse or Willow and turned them? I don't know what I would've done. But that's where the problem came in: not only was it not Angel anymore, this was a vampire that would've ripped this town a new one if he was let go. And that's considering what he would've done to any of us if you were the only superpower. You know the last thing I would ever want to do is hurt you. But this whole thing with Angelus and the Judge would've hurt you more. I just couldn't let that happen. You're stronger than that. I've seen it," Xander explained. Buffy jumped and wrapped her arms around him with everything she could, as if she as afraid to let him go. If not for his Light powers, her strength would've choked him. He felt wet spots on his shoulder and realized that Buffy was crying. Buffy let go and wiped her eyes before looking him.

"I really thankful to have a friend like you. But I have to say this: you and Ms. Calendar...it just doesn't sit right me. I'm not saying this to get you with Willow, especially with Oz in the picture. But I'm not sure I see this going so well," Buffy said, hoping not to sound offensive.

"She's all I have. If I hadn't ignored Willow...but she's always seemed on a different plane. But Ms. Calendar...she sees me as I am. She just got inside my heart and did something I haven't seen m any adults in this town do," Xander explained.

"What's that?" Buffy asked in return.

"She cared. Not that you, Wills, Jesse, Amy, and Jonathan don't. But she managed to see beneath everything. I only told Jesse this but...my life has never been the greatest. Both of my folks are alcoholics, with my dad being the worst kind. There times where he'd yell at me. And sometimes, the yelling would turn into beatings. I couldn't do much because he is my dad. But I hated it. I hated the fights between him and mom. I hated how she'd stand back and let it happen. But most of all...I hated myself. For letting it go so far. He always told me how worthless I was, how I couldn't do anything right. And I had never felt like I was even worth much, especially with how much Cordelia used to pick on me. And then Sachiel showed up and boom, I got powers. Cordelia had sort of worked out of being Queen of Sunnydale High but I think she still needed a little work. But Ms. Calendar just saw me," Xander said, smiling softly to himself. Buffy noted this and saw how happy he seemed to feel. She had to admit that despite her relationship with Angel, it was fatalistic and was doomed to fail. However, she figured Xander and Jenny could like go the same way but chose not to say anything as this was something that may need to work out without interference.

"Well, I won't do or say anything, and I'll make sure Giles doesn't. I don't think I've ever seen him relay any feeling except for stuffy and British. Plus I shouldn't hold it against Ms. Calendar about the issue with the Judge. I still can't believe that her ancestors would do that to a human soul," Buffy thought.

"About that. I had a talk with Sachiel about the soul curse. There's a lot more to that story that no one, not even the Kalderash even knew," Xander replied grimly.

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"It's about the fact that the ones who cast the spell ripped a soul from the afterlife. According to him, no human, no matter how powerful and skilled in magic can rip a soul from the afterlife. That's why mediumship, depending on it's use, is a bad thing," Xander began explaining.

"So you're saying that someone else is responsible?" Buffy questioned, not liking where the conversation was going.

"That seems to be what he was getting at. In a way it makes sense. I mean the only ones who can even control souls would be a power way beyond what we know. So why would any human believe that they have that kind of power?" Xander surmised.

"You mean that someone had manipulated them into getting angel's soul?" Buffy asked as she caught on.

"It's definitely possible, especially with everything Alex told us," Xander added.

"I'm glad you've caught on. Because it's time you knew," Ariel's voice came over as she teleported herself and two other angels in. One of them being another Ariel and the other being Gadreel. Xander and Buffy looked to at the three with shock.

"Um...who are you?" Buffy asked.

"I'm the Ariel that belongs in this universe. The other two are Gadreel, new leader of the Powers, and Ariel, Alex's guide to this universe," Ariel answered, pointing to her other companions.

"So what brings you three here?" Xander asked, despite himself.

"Well, We're here to tell you about what exactly happened involving the incident with the Judge. My former boss Sariel, and his second Kushiel, made the plan to bring the demon back together. They used Whistler to bring this plan about since your group destroyed Spike and converted Drusilla. It's amazing the reasons we can only imagine for why Father would allow her back her soul as well as remaking her," Gadreel explained.

"Ooookay. So what? She's like a super-vamp?" Buffy asked. The three female angels laughed jovially.

"Nothing like that. In fact, she's no longer a vampire. She's now a warrior for the light. At any rate, Whistler hasn't been punished as he was forced to cooperate. Sariel used his mother as a scapegoat to sweeten the deal," Gadreel further explained.

"What happened to her?" Buffy asked as she watched their grimacing faces.

"She was an agent of the Powers. But she fell in love with an Old One and gave birth to Whistler. Sariel and Kushiel had tortured her until she passed from this world. Even as she was allowed into Heaven, those two continued to torture her and forced Whistler to work for them when he became of age. Now she is finally at peace. However, is his centuries of living, Whistler has never known the fate of his mother. But he will. And hopefully he can help so that he doesn't work to bring about the end," Ariel of this universe said.

"Damn. It's just that bad. But at least maybe now there's a chance that things can be for the better, right?" Xander asked.

"There's always a chance for things to get better. All it takes is one. But you must always be wary of anything that can change that," the other Ariel said.

"And now that we've settled that matter, we have something important to tell you," Gadreel said.

"What is it?" Xander asked in wonder.

"Alex and I are moving on. Even though our time was short, he needed to be here to understand what it means to see differences in other realities. Now I'm going to take him to another world; one that he won't like even more than this world. He is calm enough to see you, Buffy. So there's no need to worry," the other Ariel answered.

"Is it okay if we see him off? I don't want him to think of me the same way he saw me during the incident with the Judge," Buffy said.

"Of course. We will gather everyone at the library and then take you to the place where they will exit this world. Though the place will come as quite a shock to you all," the Ariel of this world said.

"Alright. Let's go," Xander said.

Sunnydale High Library

Everyone was gathered in the library, including Sachiel, Gabriel and Drusilla, as they prepared to say goodbye to their visitors. Sachiel had a feeling of what his sisters, and his alternate sister, were planning to send Alex to another world. He looked to the three angelic sisters as he was wondering if this was something that needed to be done.

"Alright. Is everyone prepared?" Gadreel asked the entire group. Everyone nodded their answer.

"Alright. Form a circle and join hands," the alternate Ariel requested. Everyone moved into position, linking hands, and waited. The next thing they knew, they were covered in a massive light. The library disappeared around them as the light engulfed them. The found themselves floating in a space of what appeared to be golden light with clouds surrounding them on all sides. Another massive light engulfed them before everyone that was human fell to the ground, with Gabriel, Drusilla, and the accompanying angels floating gently to the ground. Those on the ground groaned as they were picking themselves up off the ground. Jonathan was the first to look up and see where exactly they were, with the most fascinating thing capturing his attention. Amy followed his line of sight and had her mouth drop open from shock. The others each followed their actions and were all amazed, except for the angels. Towering above them was an enormous tree that looked to be the same of a regular skyscraper and expanded to the size of an average suburban neighborhood.

"Everyone. Welcome to the Tree of Life," Sachiel said, as his thoughts on the matter were confirmed. The group looked to the archangels, still in shock over what exactly he had just said and where they were. They looked to the sky and noticed that the sky looked just as it did when they were transported here.

"In all my years, I never imagined that I would behold the sight of the tree that stood in the Garden of Eden," Gabriel said with wide eyes.

"Yes. This is where Father had initiated the creation of all things. He created the beats of the Earth, and had created Adam and Eve," Ariel stated.

"But why would you bring us here?" Willow asked.

"The Tree of Life was, at one time, the only place directly linked to Heaven, with which the Creator communed with his greatest creations. The Tree of Knowledge was also in the Garden as well. However, after the fall of our brother Lucifer, and the fall of the Earth and all who inhabit it, Father tasked us with separating the two trees from each other. Despite bringing you here, we cannot tell you where exactly 'here' is. If knowledge of the location ever got out to other humans, then not only would humans try to use the Tree to their advantages, many of the Old Ones and other devils would take advantage of this knowledge," the alternate Ariel.

"But then...why did God put the two trees for either Adam or Eve to get to? Didn't He care that one or both of them would've eaten from the Tree of Knowledge?" Giles inquired as this had been new ground for him. In his youth, he had never been one for much faith until he had become a watcher like his ancestors before him. Now, seeing where he and the others stood, it would seem he had to reevaluate the knowledge that the council had given all watchers.

"You wouldn't be the first one to ask a question of that nature. All who inhabit Heaven have often wondered why Father would place the Trees in such close proximity to each other. But there is one thing the archangels have come up with. The reason for the Tree of Life was to give longevity to Adam and Eve. However, the Tree of Knowledge was something that proved to be of the greatest gifts, but also the ultimate downfall of all humanity. We theorized that Father would likely have taught Adam and Eve the knowledge for later on until they would make the choices of what to do with that knowledge. Unfortunately, Lucifer tempted Eve and caused her and her husband to jump the gun with their gain of knowledge. Father had hoped that both would have followed after him. But it was too late. But thanks to his efforts later on, he had saved those who had fell to the Underworld after their passing," Ariel explained. Everyone was floored by this knowledge as they wouldn't have believed what they had seen or heard no matter what was going on.

"Uh...so, uh, what happens now?" Alex asked.

"Simple. You and I will use a portal from the tree, and take a trip to another universe," alternate Ariel explained.

"What?! Why not just go home and be done with this whole thing?" Alex shouted, with his voice echoing throughout the landscape.

"Because there is still more for you to see to truly understand what it means to have things in your world changed. The significance of everything you until you come home will help you further understand," Alex's guide said to him. The young man looked down and then back at the tree. He wanted more than anything to be back home with Faith and his big family. However, he realized if the knowledge gained would help him to save his world, perhaps it wouldn't be a big waste.

"Alright. Let's go," Alex said.

Ariel, Sachiel, and Gadreel stood before the tree before reciting something in a language that no one else in the group understood. Energy flowed through and around the higher beings, with everyone sensing the escalating power coming from them. Finally, the power ebbed and shot forth from them opening what appeared to be a gaping hole, flowing inward to what appeared to be nothingness. The alternate Ariel looked to her human companion.

"Are you ready?" the archangel asked.

"Yeah," Alex replied as he walked to the portal.

"Hold on Alex. I'd like to take a look at your sword," Sachiel said interrupting.

"Okay, but I'm pretty sure that it's the same one that you have," Alex replied, summoning his sword the the other Sachiel had given him.

"Yes. But there is something I need to confirm," Sachiel said. The male archangel examined his other self's sword when an idea suddenly struck. His eyes lit up as he smiled at what he had put together.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"If I know my sister's other self, the world you're about to experience will be one where the dimensional discrepancies originated. When you get there, ask the other gem to find the Hope Diamond. It may be the very thing the other world needs to keep a certain brother of ours from trying to make things progressively worse. You take care. And no matter what happens, never lose your resolve," Sachiel replied as he tossed the sword back to Alex. The dimensional traveler nodded back and turned to the portal. He looked to his second guardian who took his hand. He took one last look at the others and smiled.

"Goodbye. And take care," Alex said. He turned back and jumped through with Ariel following. Once they were engulfed, the portal sealed itself, with arcs of crackling energy fading until they were gone. Xander took one last look before he spoke up.

"It's amazing he could handle himself so well," the young man said.

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked as she had remained silent on the matter until now.

"I could tell that he's had to do some hard things. Yet through it all, he was able to pull through with the help of his friends. God help him with whatever he sees in the next universe," Xander replied to his lover.

"As long as he can get back to them, then he will be alright. I'm sorry," Willow said.

"For what?" Xander replied to his old friend.

"For attacking you the way I did. I just...I didn't know what to do when I found out," Willow said with a sad look. Xander moved to his best friend and gave her the biggest hug they ever shared.

"Look, no matter what happens, we all stick together from here on out. We are a family," Jesse said. Xander and Willow smiled back. They each turned to Buffy who smiled as well.

"This is part of what I love about humanity," Gadreel said.

"Indeed. It's these qualities that make everything worth fighting for," Ariel said.

"Well, if you're all ready, we can take you all home," Sachiel said. Everyone nodded and moved back into a slightly smaller circle, linking hands, as the archangels teleported them back to the hellmouth.

Calendar Residence

Three months later...

Mid-May, 1998

Xander had loaded the last of his and Jenny's luggage into her car. The last few months had been much more calm with the occasional vampire and demon slaying. The group had received word about the statue of Acathla being brought to the Sunnydale Museum, where they figured any demon would try and unleash the demon, after Giles had revealed the nature of it's powers. Since then, the group had become closer than ever. Giles had gotten over his feelings for Jenny and had become more of a mentor for Xander and Jesse, and all of the youths of the group. When news of Jenny and Xander taking a road trip had come up, the group was immediately surprised as they bombarded the couple with questions about why. Xander simply said that he wanted to visit certain places. While he told most of the truth, he did not tell the entire truth. He had wanted to visit certain places so that he could see about bringing some new friends to Sunnydale. The first stop would be Seattle, Washington. Xander was brought out of his reverie as he saw Buffy accompanied by Jesse, Willow, Oz, Amy, and Jonathan.

"Hey guys. What's the what?" Xander asked, happy to see his friends.

"Just thought we'd come by and see you guys off," Willow said.

"I know I haven't known you guys long. But you do some great stuff for this town without even being thanked. And whoever you find, I think you two might be a great help to them," Oz said, surprising everyone. Despite the short time knowing him, the young werewolf had normally shown himself to be of few words.

"Thanks. You're a cool guy. And Wills is a great girl," Xander said, as Jenny came out of the house.

"So what will you do when you get back?" Buffy asked. After Xander's confession of his abuse she had spoken with Jenny and wanted to do something for him. However, the techno-pagan had expressed that they will support him. But his final decisions would be what he determined. Buffy had agreed as she didn't want him to feel coddled.

"I figure I'd get some part-time work and then emancipate myself from my folks. It may be sooner than I expected but it's for the best. By the way Oz, what makes you think we're going to wind up helping anyone?" Xander inquired.

"Actually, Amy and I figured that you might try and bring those two girls into the group so that they have something good to come to," Jonathan answered.

"Come on Xander. Did you really think you could fool us?" Amy smirked at her life-long friend. Xander looked to the ground chuckling to himself.

"I guess you're right. Are you ready?" Xander asked, as he looked to Jenny. The computer teacher smiled.

"Yeah. Let's hit it," Jenny said, as Xander opened the door for her. The girls of the group smiled at his chivalry.

"Well, I guess we'll see you guys. You all watch out," Xander said as he got in the car and started the engine. The car drove off, with the others waving goodbye to the once unlikely couple.

"So what do you think will happen?" Willow asked.

"Who knows. But I know one thing: once they come back, things will be different," Buffy said, smiling.

The other youths walked away from Jenny's house as they contemplated the future. They would be unprepared for the new future that would fall upon them.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own any series mentioned in this story.

Author's note: So the Angelus crisis has come to a different end. I'd like to take this moment to address my guest reviewer about the last chapter. Yes, Buffy loved Angel. But as I wrote in previous chapters, and as was pointed out in Angel the Series, Angel's soul and Angelus are two distinct yet separate entities that inhabited the same body. The group had already explained the consequences of Angel losing his soul. If Buffy had to kill Angel while he STILL had his soul, then yes she would have to be completely jaded to do so. But it was Angel that was long gone. I actually did this to help hammer the point that when it came down to it, Buffy would've had to accept that she would have likely had to kill Angel regardless. But the fact is, Buffy herself couldn't accept that. As for the issue of Xander's relationship with Jenny, I know it's hypocritical but I made that intentional. Anyways, now the story will move to the roadtrip for Jenny and Xander. Enjoy

Early June, 1998

Seattle, Washington

Xander and Jenny woke up in their hotel room as the sunlight filtered into the room. They had visited a few places in the two weeks that had been gone. They had stopped off in New Mexico to enjoy the sun and left after a week. Xander wasn't quite sure why they traveled to Seattle, but he had a strange feeling that something had guided him to the city. He saw Jenny look up at him with a smile on her face.

"Good morning," the techno-pagan said.

"Hey. This trip seems to be going pretty well so far," Xander replied.

"Yeah it is. But I'm not sure why he needed to stop here," Jenny brought up.

"That makes two of us. Still, no use in letting a place like this go unseen," Xander said happily. Jenny laughed as she moved to get off the bed.

A few hours later...

Xander and Jenny walked down one of the many streets in Seattle taking in the sight of the city. As they passed by a building with the name Bushwell, Xander noted an odd feeling. He looked around trying to pinpoint it. He wasn't paying attention as a little boy with short, spiky brown hair ran into his leg. The boy fell back onto his bottom from the impact. Xander looked down and knelt while extending a hand. The boy looked at him for a second before accepting and grabbing his hand.

"Thanks sir. Uh, sorry," the boy said.

"It's okay. And you don't have to call me sir. I'm still a teenager. By the way, what's your name?" Xander asked.

"I'm Fre-" the boy was cut off as a woman's voice shouted.

"Fredward Benson! How many times do I have to tell you not to run off! I'm sorry. My son can get carried away," a redhead-brunette woman said as she came up to the couple.

"It's alright ma'am. No harm was done. Anyway, he's a handsome little guy," Jenny said smiling at the little boy. Fredward himself turned red as he accepted the compliment. Xander looked at the boy and felt more odd just standing near him. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but knew that something inside him felt an interesting connection.

"Well, we won't keep you two any longer. Let's go Freddie," the mother said ass he took her son's hand. Xander noticed the disheartened look on the boy's face as they walked away. He knew the feeling all too well whenever he was with his parents.

"You okay Xan?" Jenny asked.

"Something about Freddie's mom seemed mom seemed off. I felt something from Freddie. He felt the same way I did when I was around my parents," Xander said.

"You think she might be abusing him?" Jenny asked, feeling worried.

"Hard to say. But I know what I felt. Hopefully, he has someone who can make him happy in the long run," Xander explained. The couple continued walking along until they came to an interesting shop. Xander looked through the window and noticed a number of interesting items. Xander decided to check it out as Jenny followed him into the store.

"Welcome to our wonderful magic shop. Are you interested in learning about harness the powers of the world beyond?" a little girl around the same age as the boy they encountered greeted them. She had honey blonde hair but Xander could sense that there was a build-up of energy inside of her. Jenny noticed the same as she looked at the girl as well. Jenny figured the girl must be like a number of magic users who are naturally attuned to the supernatural.

"Malika, be careful how you greet our customers. I'm sorry for her. She's young but she's already staked a claim in this shop. Hi. I'm Mr. Sanderson. You've already met my daughter Malika. How can I help you folks?" came a man who appeared to be the little girl's father.

"Hello. We're actually from out of town and my friend saw the store. So we decided to stop by," Jenny explained.

"Ah, I see. Well if you're looking for anything of interest, I might be able to help. Are either one of you interested in the art of prestidigitation?" Mr. Sanderson asked. Xander smiled slightly until he noticed that the father had some power to him as well. Xander wondered how of all places, they would have run into two possible spell casters in a place like Seattle.

"Actually I am. I'm a descendant of the Romany. I know a good deal of magic myself," Jenny responded lightheartedly. Sanderson stopped for a second as he looked at the technopagan. He could see crackles of power emanating from her, as well as the energy coming from the young man accompanying her.

"I see. Are you familiar with the name of an organization known as the Brotherhood of Light?" Sanderson asked the couple. Xander and Jenny's smiles dropped as they knew all too who the group was.

"Er...uh, yes we are. A friend of ours has some old...really old, books that mentions them. Why do you ask?" Xander inquired as he wasn't expecting this turn of events.

"Well, the organization was said to have fought against supernatural creatures, some of which mankind has been familiar with for centuries. But some of the creatures were...well, let's just say they were said to be worse than say vampires and werewolves," Sanderson explained. Xander and Jenny looked to each other as they thought on the father's words. They was something they both understood after the business with the Master as well as knowing what Gabriel himself was capable of. They thought back on the Old Ones and wondered just how powerful many of them would be.

"What made you bring them up?" Xander asked.

"Well, there was something interesting about the warriors who fought for them. Apparently they used a sort of energy that they dubbed as neutral energy to channel Light and Shadow magic. Interestingly, the only energy like that was a power known as Eldritch energy. Magic can best be described as harnessing forces that shape the universe. There's a reason why what many know as black magic was not in use, as the temptation to use it would prove too great in this day and age. The energy to power the spells is said to have been, more or less, neutral energy. It's apparently the energy used when pulling off basic psychokinetic abilities like telekinesis," Sanderson explained.

"Is that the energy you use?" Xander asked. Sanderson seemed caught off guard with the question as his eyes widened a bit before he could respond. He quickly pulled himself together.

"Yes I have. It seems the ability to use that energy has been passed down through my family on both sides," the older man explained.

"Something about that sounds like something I've read from a comic book," Xander said as he thought on the explanation.

"Actually you have. The comic book hero, Zatanna is the character known for that," Sanderson said.

"She's real?!" Xander asked surprised.

"No. But there are people like that who exist all over. The concept is that there are born as people who are capable of using magic by a certain age. But really everyone who uses magic are in essence using psychic abilities that are basically jump-started and enhanced one way or another. But the way they use the energy in their spells is what makes them different," the father explained.

"But then why would some of the spell casters call on the name of god in order to pull off some spells?" Xander asked.

"Those deities were known for having power over certain things, such as Janus having power over change, or Diana having power over love. While they aren't the embodiments of those forces, they certain have an influence on them," Sanderson explained as the young man listened.

"How do you know all of this?" Jenny asked. She had learned a great deal from her family before being tasked to live in Sunnydale. However, it seems not even her family had any real idea of what they had utilized.

"The knowledge itself has been passed down through my family as well. Plus I've ahd to deal with my fair share of the supernatural. And I'm guessing you both have as well," Sanderson surmised.

"You have no idea," Xander said. He turned as he heard the door open to reveal a dirty blonde young woman around his age walk in. However, the girl seemed to be frightened of something.

"Well, It was nice speaking with you both. If there's anything I can help you with, don't hesitate to ask," Sanderson said as he went to speak with the young lady, with Malika following behind him. However, everyone stopped as a man's voice practically erupted through the shop.

"TARA?! TARA! Where the hell are you?" yelled a man with short hair. He had an angry look on his face as he came into the shop. He took notice of the others in the shop and immediately tried to take on a more calm expression.

"Sorry about the noise folks. I'm just looking for my daughter. She ran off and I've been trying to find her. There she is. Come on Tara, it's time to go," The man said as he approached the young lady, who seemed to fear him the closer he got. Xander's face immediately took on a scowl as he looked at the man drag his daughter out of the shop. Jenny noticed and could see that Xander was relating to his father's treatment of him. She could also see that he wanted to help the young lady.

"So what will you do?" Sanderson asked he stepped beside Xander.

"Excuse me?" Xander replied.

"Do you have a plan for helping the young lady?" Sander asked again.

"We're not sure what we can do. We can't just confront the guy and take the girl," Jenny said.

"True. But that doesn't mean you can't do anything. Those two aren't from this city. So you might be able to track them and help them," Sanderson explained as he gathered materials. He unrolled a map onto the table and pulled out a few other materials. Xander and Jenny watched as he held an improvisational pendulum over the map. Sanderson began chanting in Latin as the pendulum finally stopped and held still. The older man got up and took a pen and wrote it down on a card and gave it to Xander.

"Her address?" Xander asked.

"Yes. She's living with her father and brother somewhere in Nevada. And she needs help. Without her mother, she's in danger of losing more of herself to her father and brother's treatment. Whatever you do, do it fast," Sanderson said. He went behind the cash register and pulled out a camera and handed it to Jenny.

"Why are you helping us?" the computer asked the shop owner.

"Because this would be the chance to save someone and change their destiny. If the world can become a better place with just one change, imagine if the same could be done for a few others. You guys should go as soon as possible," Sanderson said. Xander and Jenny nodded and left the shop. Sanderson turned back to the rear door.

"Well, it's been done. So what happens now?" Sanderson asked a hidden visitor. The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing it to be Gadreel.

"They'll go and save the young girl. She has a potential to help change the world. In another universe, her father, brother and cousin had torn her down to a point where she had to build herself back up. But she would only die because of some power mad human that couldn't get his way. She will have to go beyond what she already knows and become a warrior of the light," the archangel explained.

"Still, I can't believe that boy and his...woman would be a part of something so great. Let alone that they would encounter Gabriel Belmont of all people," Sanderson replied.

"Yes. This world is in for a great deal of change. With that in mind, I am curious, what will you do about Freddie Benson once he's of age?" Gadreel asked. Sanderson contemplated on the question and found himself unsure. He had met Marissa and found her to be a bothersome woman. He mentioned that he owned the magic shop and she immediately wrote him off as a mad, devil worshiper. However, after some digging, he found that the woman was just as bad as she made him out to be. He had learned of her having a tracking chip implanted in her son when he was still a toddler.

"I honestly don't have the right answer. Domestic issues are usually difficult, especially when you need proof, and even then it can be overruled by some stupid technicality," Sanderson said.

"Doesn't mean you can't do anything about it. Perhaps Freddie and Malika can benefit from each other in the future. Believe me, the boy will need it," Gadreel supplied as she thought of the future that Freddie would face later on. She wondered how fate could be so cruel as to make someone who does so much for others be nothing but a whipping boy, especially as he would only grow to have to accept it without question. She would have to have a talk with the sisters about what they had written. The archangel vanished in a flash of light, leaving Sanderson and Malika in awe at the sight.

"Was that an angel?" Malika asked her father.

"Yes it was," Sanderson said.

Crawford Street Mansion

Sunnydale, California

It was a bright day in the town seated atop the hellmouth. Jesse stood in the living room as he trained using the gauntlets that Gabriel had forged for him. Gabriel had told him about his experiences using the dark gauntlet before he became a vampire. The gauntlet was a powerful artifact and was quite helpful in Gabriel achieving many of his feats during his journey. However, because Zobek's dark side forged it in hell, and with his mastery over dark arts, the Lord of Necromancers was able to influence Gabriel's actions. The former knight of the brotherhood had forged two sets of gauntlets; one set for his use when he destroyed the brotherhood, and the most recent set forged for Jesse. Luckily, as he researched forging the weapons, he realized that he could create a protective ward to prevent Jesse from ever being manipulated. The older man watched as Jesse managed to create a pillar of shadow energy using his gauntlets.

"Amazing work. You have progressed well with your power," Gabriel said.

"Thanks man. It feels good to be able to do something to help my friends. Ever since that night we found out about vampires...I gotta ask, why did you give me this power?" Jesse asked his mentor.

"Taking on the burdens of both light and shadow is enough for every human, as good and evil exist within you all. But taking on the powers of Light and Shadow can only be done by the most stalwart. For you and Xander, it's the qualities you both possess. Xander has the qualities of a white knight, who fights to protect his friends. OF course you possess those same qualities. However, you are willing to fight at the heart of the battle, as proven during the Master's rising. For this, you would've been dubbed a black knight. The title itself is used in negative connotation by the opposing forces. But it is not an evil title," Gabriel explained. As Jesse recalled the crisis, he realized that Gabriel had a point. But there was something else on his mind.

"Why are you training me? What about Xander?" Jesse asked of his brother.

"Shadow energy is easy to use and just as easy to master. But the temptation of the power can pause its user to go astray. As for Light energy, Xander just has to better understand what it means to use his power on his own. And it seems that he is going to prove that along his roadtrip," Gabriel said. Jesse looked at him oddly before Gabriel looked to him and donned his own gauntlets.

Wells, Nevada

The next day...

Xander and Jenny pulled into the town and took a look around. They saw how small the town appeared to be as they were on the outskirts. Xander followed the directions that Jenny looked up to the house they were coming to. Near the edges of town, they saw a house that appeared to have one level and was made of brown marvel. Xander could feel that something was wrong within the house, and his suspicions were confirmed as he heard a girl's screams. His eyes widened as he could literally feel the girl's pain; pain that he had shared many times from his own father's abuse. Xander killed the car's engine and took the camera Sanderson gave him and move to one of the house's windows. He looked around and noted that the house was a fair distance from the heart of the town so no one would know what went on in this house. Xander turned on the camera and used it to peer into the house.

"If I told you once, I told you a thousand times, to do what I say the first time I tell you, girl!" came a loud man's voice, followed by the girl being struck with what appeared to be a thick belt, with her screams following. Xander was ready to charge in and tear this man who called himself a father apart at the treatment of his daughter. Xander noticed that a young man a few years older stood by and watched on. Xander was ready to crash through the window until Jenny walked tot he door and knocked three times. All in the house fell quiet, and Xander quickly tried to hide the camera somewhere nearby. The man answered the door a minute later trying not to look angered. He looked at Jenny and gave her a lustful leer. He caught a look at Xander and noticed that the young man looked intently at him.

"Hello. How can I help you folks?" the man asked.

"Hi. Our car broke down just outside your house. We were wondering if we could use your phone to call a nearby autoshop?" Jenny asked with a forced smile.

"No need. I can help you with your car. Jed Maclay at your service. Follow me young man. My son Donny will get you something while me and your friend take a look at the car," Jed said as he led Xander back to the car. Jenny looked at Donny who gave her a bit of a lecherous smile. She looked towards the kitchen and noticed a girl try to hide away.

"Is she your sister?" Jenny asked the boy.

"Oh Tara? She's nothing to worry about. So what's up with the guy you're traveling with?" Donny asked.

"No need for you to worry about him. What about you and your family?" Jenny replied. Donny began explaining, unaware of what Jenny and Xander knew. Meanwhile outside, Xander and Jed were checking out the engine of the car.

"So what do you suppose is wrong with your vehicle?" Jed asked the young man.

"I don't know. Checked the engine but I couldn't make heads or tails of what was wrong," Xander replied with a strain to his voice.

"Boy should learn about cars when he gets to the right age. Your old man didn't teach you anything?" Jed asked, not knowing he struck a nerve with Xander.

"My old man doesn't give a rat's ass whether I live or die," Xander said with anger rising in his voice.

"That's a damn shame. Any man who treats his children like that isn't much a human being," Jed said, not knowing what he was saying to the young warrior.

"I guess you would know all about that, considering the way you treat your own daughter," Xander said as he turned to Jed. The man stopped and looked at Xander, only to catch a fist to his face. Jed fell flat on his ass as he was unprepared for what Xander was going to do. He looked up and saw the young man's eyes glowing blue.

"Oh lord! You're a demon," Jed exclaimed.

"No. I'm not. I'm just a guy who has power. But you somehow know about demons. What do you know?" Xander asked as he began to calm down.

"That they're evil. And that the magic comes from them," Jed explained. Xander narrowed his eyes on the man, before he roughly grabbed him and pulled him back towards the house. The young man stopped as he grabbed the camera from the hiding spot and proceeded back intot he house.

"By the way, our car was just fine," Xander said as they entered. He noticed that Donny was on the floor nursing his jaw. Xander looked up to his girlfriend as he was wondering what exactly was happening.

"He tried playing grab-ass with me and then forced himself on me. It's okay Tara. You can come out now," Jenny said. The blonde girl they saw in Seattle came from around the corner into the living room as she saw her father apprehended.

"It's you. I saw you back in Seattle. I felt your power. It was like a light in the darkness. But why?" Tara asked.

"I think the better question is why our father was abusing you," Xander asked.

"B-because...I was born bad. My m-magic. It's bad. Father says it comes from demons. And I have demon in me. It came from my mother's side of the family," Tara explained as she broke down crying. Xander looked oddly at her. He could feel that she had some power inside of her. However, he didn't sense anything else about Tara.

"You're lying," Xander said as he looked at Jed.

"W...What?" Tara asked.

"Tara, there's no demon in you. I have powers that help me sense when a demon is near and I can track them. Jenny and I are from Sunnydale, home of the hellmouth. We dealt with demons, or half demons, on a regular basis. You're no demon. Every demon, pure or half-breed, leave a distinct aura compared to humans. Your's contains nothing demonic in it," Xander explained. Jed's face took on a look of horror, as did Donny's.

"Which means her mother didn't have demon in her, or any of the women in the family. Besides, even if Tara was half demon, that would mean Donny was as well. Genetics can be corrupted but they ever lie. But why would you lie about your daughter and wife like that?" Jenny wondered.

"The better question is, what better way to control the women in the family than by using faith against them," came Gadreel's voice, followed by her appearing in a flash of light. Donny and Jed locked shook, specially as Gadreel unfurled her wings. Tara stared in awe as she felt the power from Gadreel coming off in waves.

"What are you doing here? Alex isn't in trouble is he?" Xander asked.

"No. He's just fine. Though he's dealing with some trouble in the world where the tangents in the timeline originated. I'm actually here to to see the progress of your journey," Gadreel answered.

"Journey?" Jenny asked, not aware of the archangel's reasoning.

"Yes. This roadtrip wasn't just a getaway, but also a journey of discovery for you both. It started with Tara," Gadreel explained.

"Somehow I get the feeling there's something more to this than you're telling," Jenny threw in.

"There is. But I'll have to fill you in later down the road," Gadreel said as suddenly, her robes were switched with a woman's business suit, and sirens were heard outside of the house. The door was kicked in as police officers swarmed the house.

"Jed Maclay! You're under arrest for the abuse and your wife and daughter, as well as the death of your wife," one officer yelled as he slapped handcuffs on Jed and dragged him out of the house. Xander looked at Jenny and they looked at Gadreel who only smiled back at them.

"What just happened?" Xander asked.

"You guys just saved Tara's life. Whether or not she chooses to go with you is up to her," Gadreel said.

"I-I could go with them?" Tara asked the archangel.

"If you should so choose and they accept you," Gadreel said. Jenny looked at Xander and he merely shrugged.

"We'd love for you to come with us," Jenny answered. Without preamble, Tara launched herself at Jenny and hugged her with everything she had. Jenny returned the embrace as Xander moved to the two ladies and placed a hand on Tara's shoulder.

"Today is the start of a new life, Tara."


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own either series in this story.

Author's note: So last chapter, I introduced Tara a bit earlier than I intended to. I was actually inspired by an idea that seraphim2db used in his stories The Hunter, and Problems with the Soul where Tara escapes her family very early on. Also there is one thing I'd like to address in regards to Willow and Tara's relationship. I've seen the way they've grown closer and gotten together over numerous times. First off, as a writer, there was never any clear evidence that showed that neither girls, especially Willow, were interested in women. With Tara, you only saw a shy girl who noticed that Willow had actual knowledge and experience in witchcraft but no clear evidence that Tara preferred women. And Willow's transition from men to women was never given any indication either. In fact, Willow has only had bad experiences with three men, one of which she had a hand in ruining herself. But then in college, she turns to women after meeting Tara. I have absolutely no problem with whoever they liked unless I just disliked a character as a fan, but Whedon's setup for their preferences for women just seemed non-existent. So anyone who has a problem with any changes for who I have either of them be with in any story, all I can say is just keep reading. Anyway, most of you can probably guess what's coming next for this chapter, so relax, read, and enjoy.

Boston, Massachusetts

Southside

Mid-June, 1998

It was early in the night as Xander, Jenny, and Tara rode into the town of Boston and took in the scenery before them. They noted that the appearance was not quite what they were expecting as it appeared that they had driven into the rougher parts of the city. Tara became a bit nervous as she had only been where her father had taken her. She shook off the memories as she thought back to how she came to join the pair. She was rather glad of the fact that her father had no orders to put her in the care of any other members of her family, as her cousin Beth seemed to be of the same mind as her father and she did not wish to be with anyone who would treated her as such any further. Jenny had gained custody of the young woman until Tara would turn eighteen. However, Tara had made up her mind that she would stay with Jenny until she could fully move forward with her life. The car came to a stop as they came to an apartment building that seemed to be nicer than most in the area. The three exited the vehicle and took a look around.

"Xander, what made you want to come here?" Jenny asked her boyfriend.

"You ever get the feeling you were drawn towards something?" Xander responded.

"Yeah. But I don't think I understand us coming," the technopagan threw back.

"Just...go with me on this one, alright?" Xander asked. Tara looked between the two and had a hard time understanding what exactly was going on with the two. Since she had joined them, she had noticed that they seemed to be a bit closer than an adult and teenager would be. She figured maybe they were just great friends. However, there were times where she would notice the subtle looks that the two would give when one thought the other wasn't looking. Jenny merely shrugged her shoulders and followed Xander.

Xander walked towards the apartment when he noticed a beautiful brunette with slightly pale skin, wearing black leather pants and a white sleeveless shirt with exposed cleavage, walk by. However, Xander felt something odd about this girl. He had tried to place where he had felt it before but couldn't quite remember where. While lost in his thoughts, Xander had not realized that he was staring at the young woman.

"Can I help you stud?" the girl said to him. Xander blinked and opened his mouth before he closed it right away, clearly caught off guard.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to stare. It's just that...you looked familiar for a second," Xander replied.

"What? Thought I was some old girlfriend who gave you a good, wild rump in the sack?" the girl asked with her expression beginning to intensify, as if she had made a decision without him knowing it. However, Xander raised an eyebrow at the statement as he didn't know anymore that was more blunt, except for Cordelia.

"No. You are beautiful, but no. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression," Xander said softly. He noticed that the girl's face flinched for a second before it softened.

"What do you go by stud?" the young woman asked.

"I'm Xander. These are my friends Jenny and Tara," Xander responded. The dark-haired girl took a good look at Tara before her eyes settled on Jenny. She could see that with the way the woman was looking at Xander that something was going on as Jenny's face appeared to be guarded when she looked at her and back to Xander. Tara, however, appeared as though she were trying to fade into the background.

"I'm Faith. So what brings you guys to the poor side of town?" Faith asked the visitors.

"Just taking in the sights on a road-trip," Jenny spoke up for the first time, in an even tone. Faith nodded and was about the follow up before an older, brunette woman in a grey business suit approached.

"Faith. Are you alright?" the woman asked in a cultured English accent.

"Five-by-five Diana. Something wrong?" Faith asked.

"No. You were just out for so long I was getting worried. Hello, who might you be?" the woman, identified as Diana, as the trio.

"I'm Xander. This is Jenny and Tara. We were just talking to Faith was all. We didn't mean to bother her," Xander replied. Diana's face took on a thoughtful look as she heard the name the young man had given.

"You wouldn't happen to be Xander Harris, would you?" Diana asked. Xander's eyes widened as he figured the only ones who would possibly know of him would be demons. He began to power up just in case.

"How do you know me?" the warrior asked, with a slight edge to his voice.

"Diana Dormer. Watcher of Faith Lehane, a potential slayer," Diana replied. Xander and Jenny's eyes went wide as the woman explained that Faith could possibly be a slayer.

"So then Kendra has..." Jenny trailed off.

"No. Ms. Young has not passed on just yet. Faith only has inherit abilities of a slayer. I'll explain further but you must come inside now," Diana said as she led the newly formed trio inside the apartment building. After taking an elevator four floors up, everyone stepped off, with Diana leading everyone down the hall. She stopped at about four doors down from the elevator and unlocked the door to the apartment. Xander, Jenny, and Tara stepped inside and noticed the modestly decorated apartment. A couch sat at the wall opposite the entrance, with a television set to their immediate right and two bedrooms opposite each other. Past the living room appeared to be a kitchen.

"Please sit down," Diana said. The three followed the two tenants further into the apartment, taking seats on either the couch, or at the kitchen table.

"So how do you know about me?" Xander asked the female watcher.

"The Council keeps tabs on their active slayer until she passes on and the next is called into action. We were told that Buffy Summers had friends who helped her in the fight against evil. However the appearance of Kendra Young in Sunnydale before the demise of William the Bloody had caused us all to wonder," Diana said. Xander looked at Jenny who only returned the look with her own guarded expression.

"Something else happened, didn't it?" Faith spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"Come on stud. I may not be able to pick up everything but I can see certain things most people wouldn't. Like how you and hotness are digging on each other," Faith smirked. Xander and Jenny's eyes widened at being called out. Tara was highly surprised about the new revelation is as she had wondered about them ever since she joined them. Faith's smirk fell as she saw the way the visitors were caught off guard.

"Um..." Faith started but couldn't follow up.

"You know what, we figured this would happen sooner or later. You're right. Jenny and I are together," Xander replied.

"But isn't she..." Diana tried to ask tactfully.

"Yes. But I'll be eighteen in January. Look, I'd rather not talk about this," Xander said.

"Yes, well...at any rate, can you tell us what exactly happened and why there are two slayers?" Diana asked. Xander told them about how he and Jesse gained their powers, and mentioned Gabriel's presence. He talked about the the incident with the Master and what led to Kendra appearing in Sunnydale.

"Dear lord," Diana said. Xander began laughing at the simple statement.

"What's funny?" Diana asked the young man.

"Sorry. You saying that reminds me so much of Giles. Anytime he says it the way you did, his eyes get big and wide, and occasionally he would clean his glasses like a madman," Xander said still giggling.

"Yes well, that certainly explains a lot about Ms. Young. But what exactly brought you three here now?" Diana continued.

"Well..." Xander started off.

Late May 1998

_Xander sat in his room as he contemplated the events that the group had recently gone through. It was one thing learning about angels, demons, Old Ones, Powers. However, finding out that there was a multiverse hit thrown his mind into an entirely new train of thought. He had been introduced to an alternate version of himself with differences in his timeline. It was like he was living in a comic book universe. He couldn't fathom much more about the concept as Sachiel suddenly appeared next to him._

"_You know that can get annoying after a certain point," Xander said to his guardian._

"_Would you prefer that I wake your parents up out of their drunken haze?" Sachiel replied._

"_Point taken. So what brings you here?" Xander asked._

"_I understand that you and Jenny are going on a roadtrip. Thought I would tell you about somethings you should be aware of. Seeing as the timeline his been altered enough already, that's part of why I need to tell you certain places to go. You're going to need to save two young girls from some rather horrible situations. Your first major stop is Seattle, then Boston. You'll know when you get there," Sachiel explained._

"_Sachiel, why are you helping us?" Xander asked the archangel._

"_Simple. The Powers have made plans that, for all intents and purposes, will screw over the world in one way or another. My brother Michael made similar plans but was shown that he was going down the wrong path. Just imagine what would happen if I wasn't asked to interfere," Sachiel said._

"_Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful. I just didn't understand why everything was happening like this," Xander replied._

"_Just have faith in what you do," Sachiel said before disappearing._

Present...

"And that's why we're here," Xander said.

"So your friend just told you where to go, and you just saw for yourself why we would need help? Normally I don't buy into stuff so quickly. But you haven't exactly given us reason to doubt you. The big question is why now?" Faith inquired to them.

"Would you believe that your destiny is much bigger than you probably would've ever guessed?" Jenny asked back.

"How do you mean?" Diana asked.

"You know how some people say that there's someone watching you? Well, some busy bodies upstairs have been keeping some close tabs on both you guys. And they planned on screwing you both over," Jenny replied, with Faith and Diana giving her confused looks.

"What she means is your life has been changed forever," Xander said with a goofy smile, as he realized that he sounded a bit cheesy with his reply.

"Well, at any rate what will you do now that you're here? Are you staying anywhere?" Diana asked the trio.

"We only just pulled into town when we met you. We haven't gotten anywhere to stay yet," Jenny replied.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that. You can stay here with us," Diana offered. Xander looked to his girlfriend and silently communicated that he wasn't sure what to do. Jenny smiled back from his message.

"Sure. I don't see why not. But we'd better get our things from the car," Jenny replied. Diana moved to the door and allowed them passage outside. The group made their way to the car so the trio would retrieve their things. However, not too far from them, two figures stood in the shadows as they observed the five. One was dressed in a red robe, while the other was garbed in black clothes.

"So the young brunette girl is a potential slayer?" the red robed figure asked.

"Yes Kakistos. However, she hasn't been called to action as her predecessor has not passed on from the world," the black robed figure asked. Kakistos raised a cloven hand to his chin as he stroked it, in contemplation.

"Why come to me about this? Surely someone of your caliber could easily handle them on your own," the age old vampire responded.

"Yes I would. However, in my current state, I'm as strong as you are. And the boy that accompanies them seems to have more power than I can see for myself. If not for my most of my powers stolen from me long ago, I'd have ruled at least a part of this world and the feckless warrior they called the first slayer would never have stood a chance," the black clothed stranger said.

"So what do you need from me?" Kakistos asked.

"Simple. The moment the group leaves this state, follow them. I can easily arrange for the Jamaican slayer to reappear on the hellmouth and then you ca have a challenge at picking off two slayers. But the boy and the rest of his friends you must watch out for. Thankfully, I have my own reinforcements," the other stranger said, as suddenly more figures materialized. The newcomers had skin that was paler than normal, bordering on grey. They wore black armor that covered all of their bodies except their chest and arms. Even strangers were their black feathered wings, and the fangs they exposed as they let out a low hiss. Kakistos marveled at the power he could feel coming off of the new group. The Greek vampire looked to the other figure, and extended a cloven hand, which the stranger happily took.

"You have a deal, Turiel."


End file.
